Unlocking the Nutritional Potential of Sudanese Pearl Millet: Genetic Insights into Carotenoid-Rich Germplasm for Provitamin A Biofortification

Unlocking the Nutritional Potential of Sudanese Pearl Millet: Genetic Insights into Carotenoid-Rich Germplasm for Provitamin A Biofortification | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Unlocking the Nutritional Potential of Sudanese Pearl Millet: Genetic Insights into Carotenoid-Rich Germplasm for Provitamin A Biofortification Khitma A. Sir Elkhatim, Nikwan Shariatipour, Manhal Gobara Hamid, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7452704/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Pearl millet is a vital staple in the arid and semi-arid regions of Sudan and has the potential for biofortification to address provitamin A deficiencies. This study evaluated the genetic variation in carotenoid content and grain color attributes in 116 Sudanese pearl millet accessions under field conditions at the Al Gezira Research Station. Carotenoid profiling (β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and total carotenoids) was performed using spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Grain color traits were assessed using the Chroma Meter and CIE-LAB color space parameters. Highly significant differences were found among the genotypes (P < 0.0001) for all traits. β-carotene ranged from 0.028 to 0.028–0.763 µg/g, lutein from 0.11 to 4.79 µg/g, and zeaxanthin from 0.05 to 1.69 µg/g, with total carotenoids reaching up to 9.15 µg/g. Grain color attributes, such as L*, a*, b*, ΔE, and BI, showed wide variability, with strong correlations among b*, ΔE, and browning index. Broad-sense heritability estimates were high for all traits (> 94%), with β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin exhibiting high genetic advancement as a percentage of the mean (GAM > 140%), indicating strong selection potential. Stepwise regression identified lutein and a* as the major predictors of β-carotene variation (R² >11%). Cluster and principal component analyses revealed distinct groups of carotenoid-dense genotypes, with HSD12345, HSD12415, and HSD12516 ranking among the top for β-carotene content. The identified high carotenoid accessions and color-linked traits offer valuable resources for biofortification and breeding programs aimed at improving the nutritional quality of pearl millet in drought-prone regions. Biological sciences/Biochemistry Biological sciences/Biotechnology Biological sciences/Genetics Biological sciences/Plant sciences Hidden hunger carotenoids genetic variation biofortification multivariate statistics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 30 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 09 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7452704","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":527758902,"identity":"25f0bc27-741b-406a-9500-7f603808254f","order_by":0,"name":"Khitma A. 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carotenoids, genetic variation, biofortification, multivariate statistics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7452704/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7452704/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePearl millet is a vital staple in the arid and semi-arid regions of Sudan and has the potential for biofortification to address provitamin A deficiencies. This study evaluated the genetic variation in carotenoid content and grain color attributes in 116 Sudanese pearl millet accessions under field conditions at the Al Gezira Research Station. Carotenoid profiling (β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and total carotenoids) was performed using spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Grain color traits were assessed using the Chroma Meter and CIE-LAB color space parameters. Highly significant differences were found among the genotypes (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.0001) for all traits. β-carotene ranged from 0.028 to 0.028\u0026ndash;0.763 \u0026micro;g/g, lutein from 0.11 to 4.79 \u0026micro;g/g, and zeaxanthin from 0.05 to 1.69 \u0026micro;g/g, with total carotenoids reaching up to 9.15 \u0026micro;g/g. Grain color attributes, such as L*, a*, b*, ΔE, and BI, showed wide variability, with strong correlations among b*, ΔE, and browning index. Broad-sense heritability estimates were high for all traits (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;94%), with β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin exhibiting high genetic advancement as a percentage of the mean (GAM\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;140%), indicating strong selection potential. Stepwise regression identified lutein and a* as the major predictors of β-carotene variation (R\u0026sup2; \u0026gt;11%). Cluster and principal component analyses revealed distinct groups of carotenoid-dense genotypes, with HSD12345, HSD12415, and HSD12516 ranking among the top for β-carotene content. The identified high carotenoid accessions and color-linked traits offer valuable resources for biofortification and breeding programs aimed at improving the nutritional quality of pearl millet in drought-prone regions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Unlocking the Nutritional Potential of Sudanese Pearl Millet: Genetic Insights into Carotenoid-Rich Germplasm for Provitamin A Biofortification","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-13 23:29:38","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7452704/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-27T09:29:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-23T12:13:30+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"126350817602073065690013806076399612038","date":"2026-01-15T01:41:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-09T07:31:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"193824992754766015103756085698250989017","date":"2025-11-02T05:07:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"42657597652239226525521963784183175409","date":"2025-09-30T16:16:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-30T14:55:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-09-30T14:52:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-09T15:03:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-29T08:03:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-08-29T08:00:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5e3a9a67-82cb-46a6-9925-15589a6dd8e9","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 13th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":56101680,"name":"Biological sciences/Biochemistry"},{"id":56101681,"name":"Biological sciences/Biotechnology"},{"id":56101682,"name":"Biological sciences/Genetics"},{"id":56101683,"name":"Biological sciences/Plant sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-30T16:21:45+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7452704","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45956-6","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-25 16:11:43","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 25th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-13 23:29:38","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-026-45956-6","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45956-6","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7452704","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7452704","identity":"rs-7452704","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}