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Full sugarcane genome sequenced, opening new breeding strategies

A major step forward has been taken in sugarcane research with the mapping of a complex genome. 

According to CSIRO, sugarcane contributes $2.2 billion to the Australian economy and accounts for 80 per cent of global sugar supply.

The mapping of its genetic blueprint opens opportunities for new tools to enhance breeding programs around the world for this valuable bioenergy and food crop.

The first comprehensive reference genome for ‘R570’, a widely cultivated modern sugarcane hybrid, has been completed in a landmark advancement for agricultural biotechnology.

CSIRO state it is one of the last major crops to be fully sequenced, due to the fact its genome is almost three times the size of humans’ and far more complex, with more than 100 chromosomes.

Principal Investigator and CSIRO Research Scientist Dr Karen Aitken said the breakthrough addresses the critical challenge of stagnating sugar yields by tapping into the previously inaccessible genetic information in the sugarcane genome.

“This is the first high quality sugarcane variety genome to be completed. It represents a significant scientific achievement from 10 years of collaborative effort from scientists across the world,” said Aitken.

The milestone marks a new era in breeding for the crop and was driven by an international research consortium, which included Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, The University of Queensland (UQ), and the Sugar Research Australia.

Co-author and UQ professor of Innovation in Agriculture Robert Henry, from the ARC Research Hub for Engineering Plants to Replace Fossil Carbon, aims to develop renewable carbon products from plant biomass for use as cost-effective and sustainable aviation fuel.

“Traditionally sugarcane has been bred just for sugar and now with the move to net zero, there is great interest in sugarcane as one of the most productive crops in the world to be that source of renewable carbon,” said Henry.

Sugar Research Australia cytogeneticist Dr Nathalie Piperidis said the completion and release of the sequence is a major achievement which would provide a significant boost to the global sugarcane community, particularly for those scientists engaged in molecular breeding.

This research was funded by the Joint Genome Institute (USA) through the US Department of Energy community sequencing program.

Open access to the sequence is facilitated via the Plant Comparative Genomics portal of the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute, providing the broader plant science community a hub for accessing, visualising and analysing the sugarcane genome sequence.

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