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quality, yield, and pest protection. Nuclear blueprint of rice is about seven times smaller
than that of corn (or human, for that matter) but three times larger than that of the tiny
mustard plant
Arabidopsis thaliana
, whose sequence has recently been completed [17].
Monsanto's announcement was good news for the International Rice Genome Sequencing
Project, a 10-country consortium led by Japan that has already deposited about seven
million bases in the GenBank. The rice genome sequence has been decoded to the level of a
'working draft'. This is the first crop genome to be described in such technical detail, and it
will provide a new level of understanding of almost all genes in rice, but it leaves certain
details yet to be determined. In the years ahead, rice with better nutritional value, greater
yields, and more adaptable to seasons, climates and soils will be developed, both through
traditional methods of crop improvement (breeding) and genomic technologies. This
research may also lead to the development of rice varieties that require less environmental
resources, including land and water, and utilise natural resources more effectively. The
availability of detailed information about the rice genome will likely lead to global efforts
to improve other major food crops, including wheat, corn, potato, barley, sorghum, millet
and others. And indeed, the sequencing of wheat (
Tritium aestivum
) [18], corn (
Zea mays
)
[19] and potato (
Solanum tuberosum
) (http://www.tigr.org/tdb/potato/) genomes are in
progress.
Similarly, general goal of the Animal Genome Research Program is to determine
the genetic makeup of various economically important domestic animals. Committees
representing major animal groups - like poultry, swine, sheep and cattle - are developing
computer databases similar to that available for mouse genome [20]. These will serve as
banks for genomic data representing the entire array of genes of a particular animal. The
data will provide a basis for comparative studies among animals, to facilitate correlations
between genes and their functions, and also to determine the relative positions of genes in
the DNA sequence. The committee responsible for swine genome research has made
significant progress in the development of a genetic linkage map. The immediate goals for
this committee include continuation of the development of a genetic linkage map and
production of swine cells that can be grown independently in a laboratory setting to allow
for constant availability. The swine database, USPIGBASE (http://www.genome.iastate.
edu/pig), is already available for use. Several genetic linkage maps for cattle have been
produced, and these cover approximately 90% of the bovine genome. The "international"
map has 201 areas of genetic diversity and is the result of an international collaboration
involving ten laboratories in seven countries. A major goal for the immediate future is to
develop a consensus linkage map, combining information from all independent maps now
available, and to subsequently develop a database from this information. The committee
directing the mapping of the poultry genome is striving to develop a consensus genetic
linkage map of chickens and to extend this map to other poultry of economic importance.
Further, this map will be used to identify genes responsible for specific traits, to work with
industries to develop effective applications of this knowledge, and to enhance progress in
all of these areas through sharing of information via a database. Researchers in the sheep
genome project have been successful in developing genetic linkage maps and work on a
consensus genetic linkage map is underway.
In the years ahead, agricultural plants and domestic animals will be developed both
through traditional breeding methods and genomic technologies. The primary objective of
genome sequencing is to increase our understanding of the structure, organisation, function,
expression, and regulation of their genes. Further knowledge in these areas will help to
maintain genetic diversity, to improve plant and animal productivity and efficiency, to
locate economically important production traits, and finally to provide methods for utilising
this information to select desired characteristics in these organisms [21].
