Pistachio Genome Sequenced by Scientists

Researcher of University of California, Davis We generated the chromosomal scale reference genome of the most widely grown pistachio variety, “Kerman.”

pistachio(Pistasia Bella) A sustainable nut crop with exceptional climate resilience and nutritional value. Image credit: NONAME_13.

pistachio(Pistasia Bella)) Along with cashews and mangoes, it belongs to the family of the Anacardia family and is the only species of the genus. Pistasia It is grown for edible fruits.

Although commonly known as nuts, pistachio fruit is a plant-based heat-deficient collision consisting of leathery exomesocarps, inner stone inner membrane (shell), and edible seeds (kanel).

Pistachios are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins.

Given the highly resilient resilience to abiotic stress, particularly drought and salt, pistachio trees are predicted to be an important source of sustainable nutrition in the face of next-generation climate change, with global production of pistachios more than doubled in the past 20 years.

“Scientists have previously sequenced pistachio DNA, but the new genetic maps are very detailed and accurate,” says Dr. J. Greymonroe, a researcher at the University of California, Davis.

“Improved accuracy of the new reference genome is like moving from hand-drawn maps of the landscape to satellite images from Google Earth.”

The authors also identified four important stages of nut growth from flower to harvest, providing a complete physiological assessment, including shell hardening and kernel growth.

“Knowing how nuts change through development will help farmers make better decisions, such as when to water the trees, leading to more sustainable pistachio production,” said Dr. Bárbara Blanco-lute, University of California, Davis.

“A more accurate assessment of its development will also provide growers with a better strategy for harvesting and help avoid problems such as insect damage and fungal infections.

“It was important to detail not only the physical changes in pistachios, but also the genetic and molecular drivers of those properties.”

“Genome sequencing contains precedent configuration information on how different genes behave in nuts over the growing season.”

Researchers also identified genes and pathways that affect the nutritional value of pistachios.

This includes insight into how proteins and unsaturated fatty acids accumulate. This is important for both shelf life and dietary benefits.

“We get information on how all of these nutritional properties can be obtained with pistachios and how they can be improved from a management perspective,” Dr. Blanco Raul said.

Survey results Published in the journal New Botanist.

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Jaclyn A. Adaskaveg et al. In short, the development of the pistachio genome and kernel. New BotanistPublished online on March 19, 2025. doi: 10.1111/nph.70060

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient modern human genome successfully sequenced

Scientists sequenced and analyzed the genomes of seven people who lived between 42,000 and 49,000 years ago in Ranis, Germany, and Zlatiks, Czech Republic. As a result, the Ranis and Zlati Kush were linked by distant kinship ties, and that they were part of the same small, isolated group, representing the deepest known split from lineages outside Africa. was shown. The Ranis genome contains a Neanderthal component derived from a single admixture event common to all non-Africans, which the authors date back 45,000 to 49,000 years ago. This means that all non-African ancestors sequenced so far existed in a common population during this time, and further The human remains suggest that they represent a distinct non-African population.

Illustration of the Zlati Kush, who belonged to the same group as the Ranis and had close relationships with two of them. Image credit: Tom Björklund / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Dr. Alev Schumer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolution said, “After modern humans left Africa, they met and interbred with Neanderthals, and as a result, approximately 2 to 3 percent of Neanderthal DNA is present in all areas outside Africa.'' It's in people's genomes.” Anthropology and its colleagues.

“However, little is known about the genetics of Europe's first settlers or the timing of interbreeding between Neanderthals and non-Africans.”

“An important site in Europe is Zlaty Kush in the Czech Republic, where the complete skull of a single individual who lived about 45,000 years ago was discovered and previously genetically analyzed.”

“However, due to the lack of archaeological context, we were unable to link this person to an archaeologically defined group.”

“Ilsenhöhle, located in Ranis, Germany, about 230 km from the nearby site Zlatiks, is known for a particular type of archeology, Rincombi-Ranissian-Jersmanovičian (LRJ), dating back about 45,000 years. ”

“It has long been debated whether the LRJ culture was created by Neanderthals or early modern humans.”

“Although most small bone fragments have been preserved at Ranis, previous research was able to analyze mitochondrial DNA from 13 of these remains, indicating that they belong to modern humans rather than Neanderthals. It turns out.”

“However, because mitochondrial sequences represent only a small portion of genetic information, their relationship to other modern humans has remained a mystery.”

In the new study, the authors analyzed the nuclear genomes of 13 specimens taken from Ranis and found that they represented at least six individuals.

Based on the size of the bones, it was determined that two of the children were infants, and that three were genetically male and three were female.

Interestingly, these individuals included mothers and daughters as well as more distant biological relatives.

The researchers also sequenced more DNA from the female skull found in Zlati Kush, producing a high-quality genome for this individual.

“To our surprise, we discovered that there is a fifth or sixth degree genetic relationship between the two people from Zlati Kush and Ranis,” Dr. Schumer said.

“This means that Zlati Kush is genetically part of an extended family of Ranis and likely created LRJ-type tools as well.”

Of the six Ranis bones, one bone is particularly well preserved, in fact, it is the best preserved modern human bone from the Pleistocene for DNA searches.

This allowed the research team to obtain a high-quality genome from this male individual, called Ranis13.

Together, the Ranis13 and Zlatý kůň genomes represent the oldest high-quality living human genome sequenced to date.

Analyzing genetic variation associated with phenotypic traits, scientists found that Ranis and Zlati Kush individuals carried mutations associated with dark skin and hair color, as well as brown eyes. I did. This reflects the recent African origins of this early European population.

By analyzing parts of the genomes of Ranis and Zlati Kush inherited from the same ancestor, the authors found that their populations consisted of at most a few hundred individuals and were spread over a larger area. We estimate that there is a possibility.

They found no evidence that this small early modern human population contributed to later European or other world populations.

The Zlati Kush/Ranis people coexisted with Neanderthals in Europe, raising the possibility that Neanderthals were among their recent ancestors after they migrated to Europe.

Previous studies of modern humans dating back more than 40,000 years have found evidence of recent admixture between modern humans and Neanderthals.

However, no such evidence for recent Neanderthal admixture was detected in the genomes of Zlati-Kush/Ranis individuals.

Illustration by Zlatý kůň/Ranis group. Image credit: Tom Björklund / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

“The fact that no such Neanderthal ancestry remains in Ranis and Zlati Kush, while modern human populations that may have later arrived in Europe inherited such Neanderthal ancestry. is an older Zlati Kush/Ranis lineage This could mean that they entered Europe by a different route or may not have overlapped with the areas inhabited by Neanderthals.''Also Max Planck. said Dr. Kay Pruefer of the Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

The Zlati Kush/Ranis population represents the earliest divergence from modern human groups that migrated from Africa and later dispersed across Eurasia.

Despite this early separation, the Neanderthal ancestry of Zlatikush and Ranis derives from the same ancient admixture event that can be detected in all peoples outside Africa today.

By analyzing the length of Neanderthal-contributed segments in the high-coverage Ranis13 genome and using direct radiocarbon dating of this individual, researchers found that this common Neanderthal admixture dates back to 45,000 years ago. It was estimated to be 49,000 years old.

Since all modern non-African populations share this Neanderthal ancestry with the Zlati Kush and Ranis, this means that approximately 45,000 to 49,000 years ago, non-African populations of consistent ancestry still existed. It means you must have done it.

Dr Johannes Kraus, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said: “These results provide a deeper understanding of the early pioneers who settled in Europe.”

“They also suggest that the remains of modern humans more than 50,000 years old found outside Africa have interbred with Neanderthals and are part of the general non-African population now found in many parts of the world. This indicates that it may not have been the case.”

of findings Published in today's magazine nature.

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AP Sumer others. The genomes of the earliest modern humans constrain the timing of admixture with Neanderthals. naturepublished online on December 12, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08420-x

This article is adapted from the original release by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Source: www.sci.news

The South American lungfish has the largest genome ever sequenced to date.

Researchers from the University of Konstanz and other institutions Africa(Protopterus annectens) and South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa)The genome of the South American lungfish (approximately 91 gigabases, about 30 times the size of the human genome) is the largest animal genome sequenced to date. Australia(Neoceratodus forsteri) African lungfish.

South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxaImage courtesy of Katherine Seghers, Louisiana State University.

Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the order Dipnoi (Pulmonaceae) and have existed for 400 million years, from the Devonian to the present day.

Some people consider lungfish to be “living fossils” because their morphology has changed very little over the years.

They, like all terrestrial vertebrates, have the ability to breathe air through lungs similar to our own.

Only six species of lungfish remain today: four live in Africa, one in South America, and one in Australia.

“These ancient 'living fossils' still resemble their ancestors so closely that they seem to have been forgotten during evolution,” said biologist Axel Meyer of the University of Konstanz and his colleagues.

“Since our genetic material, DNA, is made up of nucleobases and the sequence of these nucleobases contains the actual genetic information, a comparative analysis of the lungfish genome will only be possible if we know its complete sequence.”

“We already knew that the lungfish genome was large, but until now it was unclear how large it really was and what we could learn from it,” the researchers added.

“Sequencing the lungfish genome has therefore been very labor-intensive and complex, both from a technical and bioinformatics point of view.”

In a new study, scientists have sequenced the genome of African and South American lungfish.

“The South American species' DNA is 91 gigabases (or 91 billion bases), the largest of any animal genome and more than twice the size of the genome of the previous record holder, the Australian lungfish,” Dr Meyer said.

“Eighteen of the South American lungfish's 19 chromosomes are each larger than the entire human genome, about 3 billion base pairs in length.”

The largest genome sequence to date, that of the Australian lungfish, was also sequenced by the same team.

“Autonomous transposons are responsible for the large size of the lungfish genome over time,” the authors write.

“These are DNA sequences that are 'replicated' and change position in the genome, which causes the genome to grow.”

“Although similar phenomena have occurred in other organisms, our analysis shows that the South American lungfish has by far the fastest rate of genome expansion ever recorded; every 10 million years, its genome has expanded to a size equivalent to the entire human genome.”

“And it continues to grow. We now have evidence that the transposon responsible is still active.”

“We have identified a mechanism for this enormous genome growth. This extreme expansion is due, at least in part, to the very low presence of piRNAs.”

“This type of RNA is normally part of the molecular mechanism that silences transposons.”

Team paper Published in the journal Nature.

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M. Chartres othersAll lungfish genomes provide information on genome expansion and tetrapod evolution. NaturePublished online August 14, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07830-1

Source: www.sci.news

The largest sequenced genome is 30 times larger than the human genome

South American lungfish probably has a lot of 'junk' DNA

Katherine Segers/Louisiana State University

The largest sequenced genome on record, containing 90 billion DNA letters, belongs to a South American lungfish.

“Obviously, making this happen was a technical challenge,” he said. Axel Meyer “This is the largest animal genome ever found,” said researchers from the University of Konstanz in Germany.

South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxaThere are two copies of the human genome, with a total of 180 gigabases (Gb) of DNA, which would stretch to 55 metres if laid out in a line – 30 times the amount of DNA found in a single human cell (6 Gb).

The South American lungfish has 19 chromosomes, 18 of which are larger than a single copy of the human genome, Meyer said.

His team also sequenced a single copy of the 40 Gb African lungfish genome (Protopterus annectens), the researchers have now sequenced all six species of lungfish found around the world, all of which have unusually large genomes.

“It's really puzzling how these fish can tolerate such large genomes,” Meyer says. The nucleus in each cell must be very large to accommodate so much DNA, meaning each cell is larger than normal, he says. Replicating that much DNA also requires a lot of energy with each cell division.

There's no evidence that this extra DNA does anything useful. Rather, it appears to be the result of a “genetic parasite” replicating itself endlessly. It's probably mostly junk, Meyer says.

His team found that mechanisms that other organisms use to limit the spread of genetic parasites appear to be damaged or missing in all lungfish species, resulting in the South American lungfish genome growing by 3.7 Gb every 10 million years – more than one copy of the human genome.

The reason for sequencing all lungfish species is to get a better understanding of what their common ancestor was like, a close relative of the lungfish that evolved into the first tetrapod land animal.

“Of all fish, lungfish are our closest relatives,” Meyer says. As their name suggests, lungfish breathe air and would drown without it.

They can also live for more than 100 years and regrow fins and tails, Meyer said, and his team hopes to figure out how they do this.

Some plant genomes are even larger than that of the South American lungfish: a small fern found on several Pacific islands is thought to have 321 Gb of DNA per cell, but there are no plans to sequence it.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

The genomes of the greater bilby and the kobilby were sequenced by researchers

Working with Indigenous rangers and conservation managers, University of Sydney And elsewhere, they sequenced the genomes of living organisms. Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) And then it went extinct Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leuca).

Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis), 1988. Image credit: Queensland Government/CC BY 4.0.

The bilby is a unique marsupial and the only member of its family. Sugar gliderThese include the extant greater bilby and the extinct kobilby.

These animals are culturally significant to Aboriginal Australians and their common name is of Yuwaaraai origin. Bilba.

Bilbies were once an important source of meat for the desert people and their prized long black tails with white fluffy tips were used in cultural practices linked to deep symbolism of love and marriage.

Aboriginal knowledge, bilby song lineages, rituals and stories exist across Australia, connecting places and people, and even in areas where bilbies are now locally extinct, strong connections with the species continue.

The loss of indigenous knowledge and land management practices due to species decline is recognised as a threat to the survival of bilbies in the area.

Historically, the greater bilby was widespread, distributed across both arid and temperate regions, while the kobilby was restricted to the desert.

The decline of both bilby species has been attributed to the introduction of wild pests into Australia by European settlers, particularly predation by cats and foxes, competition with European rabbits, and changes in cultural fire practices.

Sadly, the Lesser Bilby is now extinct, having last been reported alive in 1931, although it may have survived in some desert areas until the 1960s and was well known to indigenous people of the Central Desert.

“The greater bilby reference genome is one of the highest quality marsupial genomes to date and is presented as nine segments representing each of the bilby chromosomes,” said Professor Carolyn Hogg from the University of Sydney.

“It provides insights into biology, evolution and population management.”

Professor Hogg and his colleagues used DNA from zoo animals to sequence the greater bilby's genome.

They also created the first genome of the extinct lesser bilby from the skull of a specimen collected in 1898.

“This research helps us understand what gives bilbies their unique sense of smell and how they survive in the desert without drinking water,” Prof Hogg said.

“Importantly, this genome is being used to manage bilby metapopulations in zoos, fenced reserves and islands.”

“By selecting individuals for transplant and release, we can maximize genetic diversity and improve the population's ability to adapt to a changing world.”

The authors also used the bilby genome to develop a more accurate fecal testing method to complement existing traditional land use practices by Indigenous rangers.

“We know a lot about bilbies – where they live, what they eat and how to track them,” says Scott West, a ranger at Kiwirrkurra Aboriginal Reserve in Western Australia.

“It's great to use an iPad for mapping and a camera for surveillance.”

“DNA studies will also help us to understand if the bilbies are related, where they come from and how far they may have migrated.”

“By using old and new methods together we can get useful information about bilbies and how to care for them – it's a two-way science.”

of result Published in the journal Natural Ecology and Evolution.

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CJ Hogg othersCombining genomes of extant and extinct bilbies with Indigenous knowledge will improve conservation of Australia's native marsupials. Nat Ecol EvolPublished online July 1, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41559-024-02436-2

Source: www.sci.news

Sugarcane genome successfully sequenced by scientists

Sugarcane is the world's most harvested crop by tonnage and has shaped world history, trade, and geopolitics, now responsible for 80% of the world's sugar production. Traditional sugarcane breeding methods have been effective in producing varieties adapted to new environments and pathogens, but sugar yield improvements have recently plateaued. The cessation of yield increase may be due to limited genetic diversity within the breeding population, long breeding cycles, and the complexity of its genome. Now, an international research team has created a polyploid reference genome for R570, a typical modern sugarcane variety.

Saccharum officinarum. Image credit: Ton Rulkens / CC BY-SA 2.0 Certificate.

Domestication of sugarcane began about 10,000 years ago. The first “sweet” varieties (Saccharum officinarum) derived from robustum sugar.

However, all modern varieties are derived from several interspecific crosses made by breeders a century ago between “sweet varieties” and “sweet varieties.” Saccharum officinarum And that 'wild' natural sugar.

Sugarcane hybridization has led to major advances in disease resistance and adaptation to stressful environmental conditions. However, early generation hybrids also had much lower sugar yields due to the greater contribution of the wild genome.

The complexity of the hybrid sugarcane genome and phylogeny is R570 varietyproduced by a breeder on Reunion Island in 1980.

“The sugarcane genome is very complex because it is large and contains more copies of chromosomes than a typical plant, a feature called polyploidy,” said researchers at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Bioengineering. said Dr. Jeremy Schmutz and colleagues.

“Sugar cane has about 10 billion base pairs, the building blocks of DNA. By comparison, the human genome has about 3 billion genes.”

“Many parts of sugarcane DNA are identical within and between different chromosomes, which makes it difficult to correctly reconstruct all the small segments of DNA while reconstructing the complete genetic blueprint. Masu.”

“We solved the puzzle by combining multiple gene sequencing technologies, including a newly developed method known as PacBio HiFi sequencing that can precisely sequence longer sections of DNA.”

“This was the most complex genome sequence we have ever completed,” Dr. Schmutz added.

“It shows how far we have come. This is something that seemed impossible 10 years ago. We are now reaching goals that we thought were impossible with plant genomics. We have been able to achieve this.”

CSIRO researcher Dr Karen Aitken said: “This groundbreaking result addresses the critical challenge of stagnant sugar yields by harnessing previously inaccessible genetic information from the sugarcane genome. ” he said.

“This is a major step forward for sugarcane research and will improve our understanding of complex traits such as yield, adaptation to diverse environmental conditions, and disease resistance.”

“We are working to understand how specific genes in plants are related to the quality of the biomass obtained downstream, which can then be turned into biofuels and bioproducts.” said Dr. Blake Simmons, a researcher at the Joint BioEnergy Institute.

“A deeper understanding of sugarcane genetics will help us better understand the plant genotypes required for the production of sugar and bagasse-derived intermediates needed for sustainable sugarcane conversion technologies at scales relevant to the bioeconomy.” and be in control.”

of result appear in the diary Nature.

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Al Healy other. Complex polyploid genome structure of sugarcane. Nature, published online March 27, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07231-4

Source: www.sci.news

The blue whale genome is sequenced by researchers

An international team of scientists has created a reference-quality, long-read-based genome assembly. blue whale (glans muscle).

blue whale (glans muscle). Image credit: NOAA.

The blue whale is one of the largest animals to have ever existed, with adults reaching up to 33 meters (110 feet) and weighing up to 150 tons.

Megaanimal genome research is of interest to several subfields of biomedicine.

Understanding the developmental mechanisms that control body size may have applications in regenerative medicine and animal husbandry.

Although large mammals tend to live longer and have orders of magnitude more cells, meaning they divide more, they develop mechanisms that increase their resistance to cancer. I am.This mysterious phenomenon is known as Peto's paradox.

“The genome is the blueprint of an organism,” he said. Dr. Yuri Bukmana computational biologist at the Morgridge Institute.

“You need to know the genome of that species in order to manipulate cell cultures and measure things like gene expression. That allows you to do more research.”

“It is generally understood that larger organisms take longer to develop from fertilized egg to adult than smaller organisms, but we do not yet understand why.”

“From that perspective, just the basic biological knowledge is important: How do you make an animal that big? How do you make it work?”

“The practical application of this knowledge lies in the emerging field of stem cell-based therapy,” he said.

“Healing the injury requires stem cells to differentiate into specialized cell types in the relevant organ or tissue.”

“The rate of this process is controlled by some of the same molecular mechanisms underlying the developmental clock.”

In the study, the authors analyzed segmental duplications, large regions of duplicated sequences that often contain genes, which can provide insight into evolutionary processes when compared to other closely or distantly related species. can.

They found that blue whales have had extensive segmental duplication in the recent past, with more copies than bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and that Vorpoise (Phocoena Cave)the world's smallest Cetacea.

Most of the copies of genes created in this way are probably non-functional or their functions are still unknown, but several known genes were identified.

One encodes a protein called metallothionein, which is known to bind to heavy metals and sequester their toxicity, a mechanism useful for large animals that accumulate heavy metals while living in the ocean. be.

Reference genomes also help preserve species. Blue whales were hunted to near extinction in the first half of the 20th century. It is now protected by international treaties and its population is recovering.

“In the world's oceans, blue whales are basically everywhere except in the high Arctic,” Dr. Buchman said.

“So having a reference genome will allow us to make comparisons and better understand the population structure of different groups of blue whales in different parts of the globe.”

“The blue whale genome is highly heterozygous and there is still a lot of genetic diversity, which has important implications for conservation.”

of result appear in the diary molecular biology and evolution.

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Yuri V. Buchman other. 2024. High-quality blue whale genomes, partial duplications, and historical demography. molecular biology and evolution 41 (3): msae036; doi: 10.1093/molbev/msae036

Source: www.sci.news

Arabica Coffee Genome Sequenced at Chromosome Scale by Scientists

researchers Genomica Application Laboratory and elsewhere are releasing improved genome assemblies. Arabica coffee (arabica coffee tree)a hybrid of coffee tree and robusta coffee (Coffea genus) contributes to approximately 60% of the world's coffee production.

arabica coffee tree. Image credit: Fadil Askar.

arabica coffee tree derived from interbreeding between modern ancestors Coffea genus and another closely related coffee species, coffee tree.

As a result of this hybridization, arabica coffee treeflavor and its large and complex genome pose challenges to breeding and genetic research.

Some partial genome assemblies arabica coffee tree is currently available, but the mechanisms that generate its genetic diversity are unknown.

Researchers Michele Morgante and Gabriele Di Gaspero and their colleagues at the Istituto di Genomica Appplicata used the latest sequencing technology to generate a more complete genome assembly. arabica coffee treeallowing detailed analysis of its chromosomal structure.

Analysis of the genome, including previously inaccessible regions such as around centromeres, revealed differences in genome structure, function, and evolution contributed by the two ancestral species, particularly in genes involved in caffeine biosynthesis. found.

For this study, they also analyzed the genomes of 174 samples collected from different species within Earth. coffee genus and found a very low level of genetic diversity within it. arabica coffee tree.

Diversity found to be increasing in some regions arabica coffee tree Varieties of specific genomic regions due to two different sources of variation: chromosomal abnormalities and gene segments provided by so-called Timor hybrids. Arabica coffee x Canephora coffee tree A hybrid from East Timor.

This hybrid is the parent line for many modern varieties that combine disease resistance traits. Coffea genus And its unique flavor is arabica coffee tree.

The authors argue that genetic diversity arabica coffee tree Essential for commercial success, this discovery could help develop new coffee varieties with desirable traits, such as disease resistance or different flavor profiles.

“Resequence data from large accession sets reveal low intraspecific diversity at the center of species origin. arabica coffee tree” the authors write in their paper.

“Across a limited number of genomic regions, the diversity of some cultivated genotypes has increased to levels similar to that observed in one of the ancestral species. Coffea genusThis is probably the result of introgression derived from Timor hybrids. ”

“We also found that in addition to very few early exchanges between homologous chromosomes, there are many recent chromosomal abnormalities such as aneuploidies, deletions, duplications, and exchanges.”

“These phenomena are still polymorphic in the germplasm and may be the root cause of genetic variation in such low-variability species.”

of paper Published in this week's magazine nature communications.

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S. Scalabrine other. 2024.Chromosome-scale assembly reveals chromosomal abnormalities and exchanges that generate genetic diversity arabica coffee tree germ plasm. Nat Commune 15,463; doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-44449-8

Source: www.sci.news

Chia Genome Sequenced by Researchers, New Study Finds

Cheer (salvia hispanica) It is one of the most popular nutrient-dense foods and pseudocereals of the Lamiaceae family Lamiaceae. Chia seeds are rich in protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. A team of scientists at Oregon State University has sequenced the chia genome, providing a blueprint for future research to exploit the nutritional and human health benefits of the chia plant.



chia seeds. Image credit: Valeria Lu.

Chia is an annual herbaceous plant in the Lamiaceae family, which also includes popular culinary herbs.

It is grown in southern Mexico and Central America for its nutrient-rich seeds containing protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, antioxidants, and minerals.

Compared to dietary fiber sources such as soy, wheat, and corn, chia seeds contain approximately 54g of dietary fiber per 100g, of which 93% is insoluble fiber.

Similarly, 60% of the total fatty acids are composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and proteins constitute 18–24% of the seed mass.

Additionally, the health-beneficial effects of chia seeds on improving muscle lipid content, cardiovascular health, total cholesterol ratio, triglyceride content, and anti-carcinogenic properties have been demonstrated in humans and animals.

The high fiber content in chia seeds also helps to reduce hypoglycemic effects and stabilize blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Professor Pankaj Jaiwal from Oregon State University said, “Our study opens up the possibility for scientists to study chia seeds with a view to improving human health, while also expanding knowledge of chia’s full range of nutritional benefits.” We will continue to deepen our understanding.”

“Long-term food and nutritional security currently requires diversifying human diets through breeding and genetic improvement of nutrient-rich so-called minor crops like chia,” said Dr. Sushma Naisani of Oregon State University. We have reached a stage where this is necessary.”

In the study, the authors assembled a haploid chia genome with an estimated genome size of 356 Mb.

They identified genes and genetic markers in chia that could help agricultural researchers breed plants to amplify plant traits valuable to human health.

They discovered 29 genes involved in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids and 93 genes that aid chia seeds’ gel-forming properties.

They also found 2,707 genes highly expressed in the seeds that are likely to produce small biologically active peptides (biopeptides) derived from proteins.

When seed proteins are digested in the intestinal tract, these small biopeptides are released and absorbed into the body, with potential properties that may help alleviate human health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Masu.

“This is the first report in silico “Annotation of plant genomes for protein-derived small biopeptides associated with improved human health,” the researchers said.

of findings It was published in the magazine Frontiers of plant science.

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parul gupta other. 2023. Reference genome of the nutrient-rich orphan crop chia (salvia hispanica) and implications for future breeding. front.plant science 14; doi: 10.3389/fps.2023.1272966

Source: www.sci.news