Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research
Project Number: 8062-21000-044-003-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2014
End Date: Aug 31, 2019
Objective:
The objective of this NACA is to increase our understanding of plant genomes through sequence generation, genetic and comparative genome analyses, and system approaches to accelerate crop improvement and management practices.
Approach:
Plant genomes are large and complex genomes, making them a challenge to sequence and characterize their genomes’. With recent changes in sequencing technology, it is now possible to generate sequence at a fraction of the cost. The ability to produce inexpensive sequencing is not only possible to produce reference genomes, characterize genetic diversity, but it has also made it possible to sequence phenomes. With the reduction of cost have come differences in the sequences themselves including the length of the sequence and the error rate. The changes will require new innovations in the way we process, combine and interpret these sequences. Experimental and computational approaches will be reviewed and developed to make use of the new short read technologies to support reference genome assemblies, structural gene annotation, and functional characterization of these genomes. This will include library development, integration of different sequencing methodologies, and development of computational pipelines to process, store and interpret the integrated data sets.
