The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) played a key part in the generation and analysis of the draft sequence of the bread wheat genome, published today, in the international journal Science. The work led by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) provides new insight into the structure, organisation, and evolution of the large, complex genome of the world’s most widely-grown cereal crop.

Generated under the auspices of IWGSC, the Chromosome Survey Sequence represents the most complete version of the wheat genome to date. A major part of the sequencing and assembly work was performed in the UK by TGAC, where 14 of the 21 chromosomes were sequenced and also generated all of the chromosome assemblies. The data is available in Ensembl Plants site hosted at the EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI).

The genetic blueprint is an invaluable resource to plant science researchers and breeders. For the first time, they have at their disposal a set of tools enabling them to rapidly locate specific genes on individual wheat chromosomes throughout the wheat genome. As of today, researchers in the IWGSC estimate that the full genome sequence will be available within three years.

With a chromosome-based full sequence in hand, plant breeders will have high quality tools at their disposal to accelerate breeding programs and to identify how genes control complex traits such as yield, grain quality, disease, pest resistance, orabiotic stress tolerance. They will be able to produce a new generation of wheat varieties with higher yields and improved sustainability to meet the demands of a growing world population in a changing environment.

“With the draft gene sequence for each of the bread wheat chromosome and the first reference sequence of chromosome 3B, we have reached a great milestone in our roadmap,” said Catherine Feuillet, IWGSC co-chair. “We know now the way forward to obtain a reference sequence for the 20 remaining chromosomes and we hopefully will be able to find the resources to achieve this in the next three years.”

Mario Caccamo, Director of TGAC, added: “ We are very proud to be part of this ground-breaking project led by the IWGSC. One of our main research priorities at TGAC is to address the grand challenge of maintaining food security through the application of genomic technologies. It is very exciting to see the impact of the use of Next Generation Sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools applied to the improvement of wheat, one of the most widely cultivated crops in the world.”

The draft sequence is already providing new insights into the history and evolution of the wheat genome and genes involved in grain development, as exemplified in two additional publications appearing in the same issue of Science.

Wheat is a major dietary component for many populations across the world. Grown on more land than any other crop, more than 215 million hectares of wheat are harvested annually to generate a world production of almost 700 million tons, making it the third most produced cereal after maize and rice. It is the leading source of vegetable protein in human food, having higher protein content than either maize or rice. The wheat plant is highly versatile due to its ability to grow in a wide range of environments. Wheat grain is easily stored and can be converted readily into flour for making numerous varieties of high quality edible food.

Full article published in Science's Special Issue Slicing the wheat genome.

About TGAC
The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) is a research institute focused on the development of genomics and computational biology. TGAC is based within the Norwich Research Park and receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) - £9.2M in 2012-2013 - as well as support from other research funders. TGAC is one of eight institutes that receive strategic funding from BBSRC.

TGAC offers state of the art DNA sequencing facility, unique by its operation of multiple complementary technologies for data generation. The Institute is a UK hub for innovative Bioinformatics through research, analysis and interpretation of multiple, complex data sets. It hosts one of the largest computing hardware facilities dedicated to life science research in Europe. It is also actively involved in developing novel platforms to provide access to computational tools and processing capacity for multiple academic and industrial users and promoting applications of computational Bioscience. Additionally, the Institute offers a Training programme through courses and workshops, and an Outreach programme targeting schools, teachers and the general public through dialogue and science communication activities, www.tgac.ac.uk.

About the IWGSC
The IWGSC, with more than 1,000 members in 57 countries, is an international, collaborative consortium, established in 2005 by a group of wheat growers, plant scientists, and public and private breeders. The goal of the IWGSC is to make a high quality genome sequence of bread wheat publicly available, in order to lay a foundation for basic research that will enable breeders to develop improved varieties.

More information can be found at www.wheatgenome.org

About EMBL-EBI
The European Bioinformatics Institute is part of EMBL, Europe’s flagship laboratory for the life sciences. EMBL-EBI provides freely available data from life science experiments covering the full spectrum of molecular biology, and about 20% of the institute is devoted to investigator-led research using computational approaches to unravel the secrets of life. Our extensive training programme helps researchers in academia and industry to make the most of the incredible amount of data being produced every day in life science experiments. We are a non-profit, intergovernmental organisation funded by EMBL member states. Our 500 staff hail from 43 countries, and we welcome a regular stream of visiting scientists throughout the year. We are located on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus in Hinxton, Cambridge in the United Kingdom. www.ebi.ac.uk