E-Mail
IMAGE: Harvesting switchgrass in Texas under field rainout shelters for drought tolerance studies. This image complements a Nature paper announcing the release of a high-quality reference sequence of the complex. view more
Credit: David Lowry
Gardeners and farmers around the country recognize that crop varieties grow best in certain regions. Most plant species have adapted to their local environments; for example, crop and ornamental seeds sold for the upper Midwest are often very different than those bred for Texas. Identifying and breeding varieties that have high productivity across a range of environments is becoming increasingly important for food, fuel and other applications, and breeders aren t interested in waiting decades to develop new crops.
Date Time
Green millet genome resource provides a valuable tool for studying major crops
Scientists will be better able to investigate the genetics of important traits in crops such as maize and sorghum thanks to a new genome resource for green millet developed by a team that included three RIKEN researchers
1. Its value has already been demonstrated by identifying the gene in foxtail millet responsible for seed shattering-the process by which plants release seeds, which is essential for plants to propagate in the wild but is a major cause of yield loss in crops.
The genome resource consists of a reference sequence from green millet line A10.1 together with the sequenced genomes of nearly 600 diverse samples of green millet. It was assembled by an international team led by Elizabeth Kellogg of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Jeremy Schmutz of the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, and included Hitoshi Sakakibara of the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource