The first molecular marker-based genetic linkage map of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) was built with restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), the marker system of choice in the early 1990s. This map has served as the basis for subsequent pearl millet marker-based studies at the John Innes Centre. The RFLP framework in the consensus map is presented and is based on 173 (out of 500 available) mapped PstI genomic clones from inbred line Tift 23DB, which has now become the base genotype for pearl millet molecular genetics. Molecular marker techniques have now moved on particularly with the development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a programme at ICRISAT has developed the first microsatellite markers (simple sequence repeats; SSR). Some 100 markers, of which 60 are mapped, are available either as DNA primers or as DNA sequences of the flanking regions of the SSR. The integration of the pearl millet map in the grass consensus map is briefly described along with the establishment of the plant genome database MilletGenes. MilletGenes collates as genome related data (maps, markers, DNA sequences and images) on pearl millet, finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and tef (Eragrostis tef).