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Genomics

Decoding our daily bread

Nature volume 491, pages 678–680 (2012)Cite this article

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The wheat genome is large and complex, and has defied complete sequencing. But the most comprehensive analysis so far of the plant's genes will support efforts to optimize the supply of this vital food crop. See Letter p.705

The bread wheat genome presents a significant challenge to researchers. At 17 gigabases, it is about six times the size of the human genome, and it is hexaploid, meaning that it contains six sets of chromosomes, which derive from three different genomes. So why bother to sequence such a difficult genome? Wheat is arguably the most important plant to humans. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the world's most widely grown crop, covering more than 200 million hectares of land1 throughout temperate, Mediterranean-type and subtropical regions of both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Although total production of wheat — 681 million tonnes in 2011 (ref. 1) — is slightly lower than that of maize (corn) and rice, wheat is the primary carbohydrate and protein source for the world's population1. For this reason, researchers around the world are tackling the challenge of the plant's genome. On page 705 of this issue, Brenchley et al.2 present a detailed analysis and assembly of wheat gene sequences that will provide a key resource for crop scientists.

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Figure 1: Vital grains.

OLIVER BRANDT/IMAG EBROKER/FLPA

References

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  1. Peter Langridge is at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, University of Adelaide, Urrbrae 5064, Australia.,

    Peter Langridge

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  1. Peter Langridge
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Correspondence to Peter Langridge.

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Langridge, P. Decoding our daily bread. Nature 491, 678–680 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/491678a

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