Indian Scientists To Help Decipher Wheat Genetic Code

Indian agricultural scientists have collaborated with the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) to decode the genetic blueprint of wheat, which would help breeders produce better quality cereal.

Scientists from the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology (New Delhi), Punjab Agricultural University and Delhi University, in collaboration with the IWGSC, have published a chromosome-based draft sequence of the ‘bread wheat genome,’ the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said.

Wheat breeders will now have better tools to hasten breeding programmes and identify how genes control traits like yield, grain quality, disease, pest resistance and tolerance to drought.

The draft sequence is already providing new insights into the history and evolution of the wheat genome and genes involved in grain development and disease resistance, the release said.

In the past, Indian scientists had helped crack the genetic code of rice and tomato and also succeeded in deciphering pigeon pea (Arhar) and chickpea (chana) genomes.
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