ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 16th Oct, 2019) Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Centre for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYUAD CGSB, and the UAEU Khalifa Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, KCGEB, along with other institutions have developed an improved assembly of the genome for the date palm using long-read sequencing technology to help advance further research, and also inform the propagation practices of this essential MENA region food source.
This new and improved genome sequence in a paper titled, 'Genome-wide association mapping of date palm fruit traits', which was published today in the journal, Nature Communications. A genome sequence provides the complete genetic code of an organism and encodes all the genes found in an individual.
The genome sequence identified by NYUAD and UAEU researchers will help scientists explore the genetics of this important food crop and breeders to find new genes to develop new and improved varieties of date palms.
The researchers have identified the genes and mutations that lead to the colour change and the level of major sugars in the date palm fruit, including the genes for the enzyme invertase that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose. The mapping of these fruit colour and sugar genes was conducted using genome-wide association studies, GWAS, which has been used for mapping important disease genes in humans and was applied to date palms for the first time.
While date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are one of the earliest domesticated tree crops in the world and remain a major fruit crop in North Africa and the middle East, few genomic resources exist. This, combined with long generation times, has limited evolutionary genomic studies of this perennial species.
Lead Scientist and Silver Professor of Biology, New York University, and part of NYUAD CGSB, Michael Purugganan, said, "As we face challenges in food security for the future, we will need to continue to study the genome of food crops such as date palm to help us in our struggle to provide food security in the world. Our progress in expanding the genome of the date palm is finally unlocking some of the secrets that explain how this tree species has continued to thrive in varied, challenging ecosystems."
The sequencing of the date palm genome and the first GWAS-mapping in this fruit tree was an international effort led by NYUAD and KCGEB, and also included researchers in the United States, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.
