The genome of Chenopodium quinoa.

Authors: Jarvis, David E and Ho, Yung Shwen and Lightfoot, Damien J and Schmöckel, Sandra M and Li, Bo and Borm, Theo J A and Ohyanagi, Hajime and Mineta, Katsuhiko and Michell, Craig T and Saber, Noha and Kharbatia, Najeh M and Rupper, Ryan R and Sharp, Aaron R and Dally, Nadine and Boughton, Berin A and Woo, Yong H and Gao, Ge and Schijlen, Elio G W M and Guo, Xiujie and Momin, Afaque A and Negrão, Sónia and Al-Babili, Salim and Gehring, Christoph and Roessner, Ute and Jung, Christian and Murphy, Kevin and Arold, Stefan T and Gojobori, Takashi and Linden, C Gerard van der and van Loo, Eibertus N and Jellen, Eric N and Maughan, Peter J and Tester, Mark

Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa) is a highly nutritious grain identified as an important crop to improve world food security. Unfortunately, few resources are available to facilitate its genetic improvement. Here we report the assembly of a high-quality, chromosome-scale reference genome sequence for quinoa, which was produced using single-molecule real-time sequencing in combination with optical, chromosome-contact and genetic maps. We also report the sequencing of two diploids from the ancestral gene pools of quinoa, which enables the identification of sub-genomes in quinoa, and reduced-coverage genome sequences for 22 other samples of the allotetraploid goosefoot complex. The genome sequence facilitated the identification of the transcription factor likely to control the production of anti-nutritional triterpenoid saponins found in quinoa seeds, including a mutation that appears to cause alternative splicing and a premature stop codon in sweet quinoa strains. These genomic resources are an important first step towards the genetic improvement of quinoa.

Journal: Nature
DOI: 10.1038/nature21370
Year: 2017

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