Pearl millet genomic vulnerability to climate change in West Africa highlights the need for regional collaboration

Bénédicte Rhoné (), Dimitri Defrance, Cécile Berthouly-Salazar, Cédric Mariac, Philippe Cubry, Marie Couderc, Anaïs Dequincey, Aichatou Assoumanne, Ndjido Ardo Kane, Benjamin Sultan, Adeline Barnaud () and Yves Vigouroux ()
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Bénédicte Rhoné: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Dimitri Defrance: ESPACE-DEV, Univ Montpellier, IRD, Univ Guyane, Univ Réunion, Univ Antilles, Univ Avignon, 500 rue Jean-François Breton
Cécile Berthouly-Salazar: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Cédric Mariac: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Philippe Cubry: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Marie Couderc: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Anaïs Dequincey: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Aichatou Assoumanne: Univ Abdou Moumouni
Ndjido Ardo Kane: Laboratoire Mixte International LAPSE
Benjamin Sultan: ESPACE-DEV, Univ Montpellier, IRD, Univ Guyane, Univ Réunion, Univ Antilles, Univ Avignon, 500 rue Jean-François Breton
Adeline Barnaud: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD
Yves Vigouroux: DIADE, Univ Montpellier, IRD

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Climate change is already affecting agro-ecosystems and threatening food security by reducing crop productivity and increasing harvest uncertainty. Mobilizing crop diversity could be an efficient way to mitigate its impact. We test this hypothesis in pearl millet, a nutritious staple cereal cultivated in arid and low-fertility soils in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyze the genomic diversity of 173 landraces collected in West Africa together with an extensive climate dataset composed of metrics of agronomic importance. Mapping the pearl millet genomic vulnerability at the 2050 horizon based on the current genomic-climate relationships, we identify the northern edge of the current areas of cultivation of both early and late flowering varieties as being the most vulnerable to climate change. We predict that the most vulnerable areas will benefit from using landraces that already grow in equivalent climate conditions today. However, such seed-exchange scenarios will require long distance and trans-frontier assisted migrations. Leveraging genetic diversity as a climate mitigation strategy in West Africa will thus require regional collaboration.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19066-4

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