Project name: Eragrostis tef

Description: Eragrostis tef is one of the most important cereals in Ethiopia. Current opinion has domestication occurring in Ethiopia between 4000 BCE and 1000 BCE from E. pilosa. It is a C-4 metabolism plant that produces grain that is comparable to some of the major cereals and is better than some in terms of mineral content. Also the grain can be part of the diet for those suffering from celiac disease because the gluten does not contain the alpha-gliadin fraction that causes the disease. Because of the importance of the plant to Ethopia a public tef improvement program has been funded in Ethopia since 1956. The genetic map allows trans-genome gene identification as well as enabling the use of consensus maps to further existing knowledge of gene action as well as metabolic and physiologic pathways.

Relevance: Agricultural

Last updated: 2006-06-02