The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Wednesday its scientists have helped complete sequencing of the wheat genome, which the agency said will increase yields, accelerate development of varieties with enhanced nutritional value and "help feed the world."
Grown on more land area than any other commercial crop, wheat - a crop domesticated thousands of years ago - is the world's most important staple food, and its improvement has vast implications for global food security.
The wheat genome is five times the size of the human genome, giving it a complexity that makes it difficult to study.
The work to complete the shotgun sequencing of the wheat genome will help to improve programs on breeding and adaptation in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa for wheat crops that could be drought tolerant and resistant to weeds, pests and diseases.
Wheat growers face numerous challenges each year. Acidity in the soil can make wheat difficult to grow in some areas. Stem rust, a fungal disease, can wipe out entire crops, and a particularly aggressive form of stem rust has developed the ability to knock out genetic resistance in many popular wheat varieties and is causing major losses overseas.
"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. "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."
The achievement was published in a paper in the journal Nature.
The USDA scientists - working as part of an international team - 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.
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 results published today 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.
