Scientists Work to Sequence Key Brassica Species

An international team of scientists from China, Australia, USA, Canada, South Korea, France, and the UK has released a report that provides new insights into the establishment of the genome sequence of the main horticultural Brassica species. The findings will support further research about this important crop species which includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and is a close relative of oilseed rape.

Professor Ian Bancroft from UK's York University, said: "This resource will be of tremendous benefit for research programs around the world, both those focusing on the fundamental biology of Brassica species and those aiming to bring about predictive genetic improvement of familiar brassica vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage." His team helped analyze data in the research and also improved the quality and utility of the genome sequence by relating it to genetic linkage maps.

For more, read the news release at http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2014/research/genome-sequence-brassica/. The research, published in Nature Communications is available at http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140523/ncomms4930/full/ncomms4930.html.