"WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) scientists as part of an international
team have completed a “shotgun sequencing” of the
wheat genome for the first time, according to a paper
published Nov. 28 in the journal Nature.
Wheat was the main remaining field crop that had not
been genetically sequenced by scientists, and the
breakthrough spurred ideas that yields may increase
and more nutritious wheat will be bred as a result.
Olin Anderson and Yong Gu, scientists with USDA's
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) based at the
agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany,
California, U.S., played instrumental roles in the
sequencing effort, along with Naxin Huo, a post-
doctoral researcher working in Gu's laboratory.
“By unlocking the genetic secrets of wheat, this study
and others like it give us the molecular tools necessary
to improve wheat traits and allow our farmers to
produce yields sufficient to feed growing populations
in the United States and overseas,” said Catherine
Woteki, USDA’s chief scientist and Undersecretary for
research, education and economics. “Genetics provides
us with important methods that not only increase
yields but also address the ever-changing threats
agriculture faces from natural pests, crop diseases and
changing climates.”
Wheat is grown on more land than any other
commercial crop and is the world’s most important
staple food.
“It’s improvement has vast implications for global food
security,” the USDA said. “The study represents the
most detailed examination to date of the DNA that
makes up the wheat genome, a crop domesticated
thousands of years ago. The wheat genome is five
times the size of the human genome, giving it a
complexity that makes it difficult to study. The
researchers used the whole genome shotgun
sequencing approach, which essentially breaks up the
genome into smaller, more workable segments for
analysis and then pieces them together.”
The USDA has conducted similar genomic studies on
other crops such as tomatoes, corn and soybeans.
Another international team of scientists is working on
a long-term project expected to result in more
detailed sequencing results of the wheat genome in
the years ahead. But the published results shed light
on wheat's DNA in a way that will help breeders
develop hardier varieties by linking genes to key traits,
such as disease resistance and drought tolerance.
Wheat evolved from three ancient grasses, and the ARS
team, working closely with partners at University of
California, Davis, sequenced the genome of one of
those three parents, Aegilops tauschii. That
sequencing, funded in part by the National Science
Foundation, was instrumental in the study. It allowed
researchers to identify the origins of many of the
genes found in modern-day wheat, a key step in
linking genes to traits and developing markers for use
in breeding new varieties."
Agriculture (USDA) scientists as part of an international
team have completed a “shotgun sequencing” of the
wheat genome for the first time, according to a paper
published Nov. 28 in the journal Nature.
Wheat was the main remaining field crop that had not
been genetically sequenced by scientists, and the
breakthrough spurred ideas that yields may increase
and more nutritious wheat will be bred as a result.
Olin Anderson and Yong Gu, scientists with USDA's
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) based at the
agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany,
California, U.S., played instrumental roles in the
sequencing effort, along with Naxin Huo, a post-
doctoral researcher working in Gu's laboratory.
“By unlocking the genetic secrets of wheat, this study
and others like it give us the molecular tools necessary
to improve wheat traits and allow our farmers to
produce yields sufficient to feed growing populations
in the United States and overseas,” said Catherine
Woteki, USDA’s chief scientist and Undersecretary for
research, education and economics. “Genetics provides
us with important methods that not only increase
yields but also address the ever-changing threats
agriculture faces from natural pests, crop diseases and
changing climates.”
Wheat is grown on more land than any other
commercial crop and is the world’s most important
staple food.
“It’s improvement has vast implications for global food
security,” the USDA said. “The study represents the
most detailed examination to date of the DNA that
makes up the wheat genome, a crop domesticated
thousands of years ago. The wheat genome is five
times the size of the human genome, giving it a
complexity that makes it difficult to study. The
researchers used the whole genome shotgun
sequencing approach, which essentially breaks up the
genome into smaller, more workable segments for
analysis and then pieces them together.”
The USDA has conducted similar genomic studies on
other crops such as tomatoes, corn and soybeans.
Another international team of scientists is working on
a long-term project expected to result in more
detailed sequencing results of the wheat genome in
the years ahead. But the published results shed light
on wheat's DNA in a way that will help breeders
develop hardier varieties by linking genes to key traits,
such as disease resistance and drought tolerance.
Wheat evolved from three ancient grasses, and the ARS
team, working closely with partners at University of
California, Davis, sequenced the genome of one of
those three parents, Aegilops tauschii. That
sequencing, funded in part by the National Science
Foundation, was instrumental in the study. It allowed
researchers to identify the origins of many of the
genes found in modern-day wheat, a key step in
linking genes to traits and developing markers for use
in breeding new varieties."
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