Harnessing sorghum and millet biotechnology for food and health

This review highlights recombinant DNA technology as a powerful tool to enhance the gene pools of sorghum and pearl millet crops regarded as jewels of Africa. Although important advances in the improvement of these species have been made by classical breeding and modern marker assisted selection, genetic manipulation and in vitro culture allows the gene pool to be broadened beyond that normally available for improvement by allowing the transfer of genes which control well-defined traits between species. The current state of sorghum and millet transformation technology is summarised and applications in the improvement of nutritional quality and the resistance to pathogens and pests for crops grown in Africa and Asia is discussed. Regulatory aspects including gene flow and future prospects are also discussed.