Decoding Kutki: Seed Storage Proteins of a Climate-Resilient Millet
A hands-on in silico program comparing kutki (little millet) with rice: physicochemical properties, domains, 2D and 3D structure, and evolutionary relationships, with a focus on the kutki Zein and rice α-prolamin inhibitor proteins.
Why kutki matters
Kutki (little millet) is closely linked with rain-fed, drought-prone and tribal farming regions of Madhya Pradesh. It grows in places where rice crops can fail completely.
In silico comparative studies of kutki and rice look at physicochemical, structural, domain and evolutionary characteristics. They help show kutki’s potential as a climate-resilient, nutritionally rich grain and support its place in sustainable food systems.
One key finding to explore: kutki Zein shows a close relationship with the α-prolamin inhibitor protein of rice. This points to conserved domains, especially in regions typical of prolamin-type seed storage proteins, which may reflect shared structural or functional features. In this program you learn how to test such a claim yourself.
What you will do
Six hands-on modules over one month. Each module ends with a short task that builds your final mini research report.
Kutki in context and data retrieval
Kutki’s role in rain-fed and tribal farming, drought tolerance and nutrition. Finding and downloading Zein, α-prolamin inhibitor and related seed storage protein sequences.
NCBI, UniProt, Gramene
Physicochemical profiling
Molecular weight, isoelectric point, amino acid composition, instability index, aliphatic index and GRAVY. Comparing kutki and rice proteins in a table and chart.
ExPASy ProtParam, Excel / Google Sheets
Domain and motif analysis
Identifying prolamin-type and other conserved domains and motifs, and checking how well they are shared between the two crops.
InterPro, Pfam, NCBI CDD, SMART, MEME Suite
2D and 3D structure prediction
Predicting helices, sheets and coils, then building 3D models, checking their quality and superimposing kutki and rice structures.
SOPMA, PSIPRED, AlphaFold, SWISS-MODEL, PROCHECK, ProSA, PyMOL / UCSF Chimera
Phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis
Similarity searching, multiple sequence alignment, building a tree, and reading it to judge how closely the proteins are related.
BLAST, Clustal Omega, MEGA, iTOL
Interpretation, report and presentation
Putting results together: what conservation tells us about function, and what it means for climate-resilient food systems. Writing and presenting your mini report.
Report writing, scientific figures, presentation
Program details
Organiser
Bhavya Organic Tech Welfare Foundation
Start date
10 October 2026
Duration
1 month
Mode of training
Hybrid (online and offline)
Registration deadline
9 October 2026
Who can join
Students and researchers in biotechnology, bioinformatics, botany, agriculture, food science and life sciences.
You will gain
Skills in sequence retrieval, domain analysis, structure modelling and phylogenetics, plus a mini project report.
Certificate
Internship / participation certificate from the foundation.
Registration and enquiry
To register or ask a question, email organic.bhavya@gmail.com with:
- Full name
- Phone / WhatsApp number
- College / organisation
- Preferred mode (online or offline)