Biotech Updates

Oak Genome Sequenced

June 10, 2015

Research teams at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have sequenced the genome of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). It is the first time that a Quercus species — a very common one in the northern hemisphere — has been sequenced.

The consortium spent three years of research work to decipher all the genetic information carried by the oak tree's 12 pairs of chromosomes. The consortium has characterized 50,000 genes and estimates that half of the 1.5 billion base pairs of the genome are composed of repeated elements. This is a first for a species of the Quercus genus, which is economically, environmentally, and even culturally important in many countries.

For more details, read the press release at the INRA website.