Setaria italica

Image Credit:

STRONGlk7 -Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Scientific name: Setaria italica

Common name(s): Foxtail Millet

Name as shown in Phylogenes: Foxtail Millet

Ploidy: Diploid

Description:

Setaria italica, commonly known as foxtail millet, is a member of the Poaceae which includes cereal crops such as maize and sorghum and biofuel crops such as switchgrass. Foxtail millet is a major cereal crop in China where it has been cultivated since 6000 B.C.

It is related by descent to the invasive species Setaria viridis (green foxtail). Because it is a diploid, has a short generation time, and is genetically tractable, it is a good experimental model system.

Reference(s): 

1. Bennetzen JL, et al. Reference genome sequence of the model plant Setaria. Nat Biotechnol. 2012 May 13;30(6):555-61. doi: 10.1038/nbt.2196.

Genome Database(s):

Setaria genome at Phytozome