Abstract
Pigeonpea is an important food legume crop of semi-arid tropics. The ability to perform better in marginal environments renders this crop highly attractive for low-input farming systems. Pigeonpea has received limited attention with respect to the development of genomic resources. Nevertheless, the last decade has witnessed a remarkable rise in pigeonpea genomics, transforming pigeonpea from a “genomic orphan” to a crop that now enjoys availability of next generation genomic resources including reference genome sequence, whole-genome resequencing (WGRS) data sets and a pangenome. The availability of reference genome sequences in combination with NGS-based genotyping protocols and high-density SNP arrays has helped elucidate the genetic architectures of important agronomic traits in pigeonpea. High-resolution mapping of traits has been achieved following phenotyping of wider germplasm sets with sequenced genomes. In this context, more efficient designs such as MAGIC and NAM have been made available for trait discovery. Gene-level resolution of genetic architectures will be crucial to enable targeted manipulation. In parallel, efforts are underway to improve genetic gains in pigeonpea breeding programme through accelerating generation turnover. Growing WGRS data sets of comprehensive germplasm collections pave the way for deployment of new breeding approaches like haplotype-based breeding and genome-wide predictions to expeditiously breed modern pigeonpea cultivars to ensure nutritious food for burgeoning population worldwide.
