Potato & late blight genomes sequenced

The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium recently announced the complete genome sequencing of the cultivated potato plant, Solanum tuberosum L.

This comes hot on the heels of the genetic sequencing of one of its infamous enemies, Phytophthora infestans, the cause of late blight.

You may also be interested in...

Books:

• Genome mapping and molecular breeding in plants
• Potato cultivar genome analysis - chapter in Plant pathology: techniques and protocols v.508
• Genetic improvement of solanaceous crops
• Potato biology and biotechnology: advances and perspectives
• Genera Solanacearum: the genera of Solanaceae illustrated, arranged according to a new system
• Advances in potato chemistry and technology

Dissertations and theses:

• Molecular phylogeny of Solanum subgenus Potatoe, sections Lycopersicon and Petota
• Molecular characterization of the broad-spectrum potato late blight resistance gene RB
• Phylogenetic analysis of wild potato species, Solanum series Conicibaccata by morphology and conserved orthologous set II (COSII) markers
• Evolutionary relationships of Solanum series Piurana and related species in Solanum section Petota (wild potatoes)
• Morphometric study of species boundaries of the wild potato Solanum brevicaule complex: replicated field trials in Argentina and Peru
• Nuclear RFLP phylogenies of Solanum sect, Petota reflect biogeography but not EBN, ploidy, or genome designations
• Genetic analysis of R9 conditioning late-blight resistance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)
• Late blight resistance linkages in a novel cross of the wild potato species Solanum paucissectum (series Piurana)

Conference proceedings:

• Proceedings of the IVth Balkan Symposium on Vegetables and Potatoes: Plovdiv, Bulgaria, September 9-12, 2008
• Solanaceae VI: genomics meets biodiversity: proceedings of the VIth International Solanaceae Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, July 23-27, 2006

Journal articles:

• High density molecular linkage maps of the tomato and potato genomes
• Organization of genes controlling disease resistance in the potato genome
• Comparative genomics enabled the isolation of the R3a late blight resistance gene in potato

News and blog posts:

• Draft Potato Genome Based On Unique Potato Variety (9/28/09)
• With Map Of Potato Genome, Scientists Hope To Improve Crop Yield (9/25/09)
• Potato blight reveals some secrets as genome is decoded (9/9/09)
• Blight affecting tomatoes and potatoes (7/5/09)

[Photo: Jack Delano, 1940, The Library of Congress Flickr collection, no known copyright restrictions]

NEW e-book! Encyclopedia of Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics, and Informatics

NEW! Online reference book provided by the UW-Madison Libraries:

Encyclopedia of Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics, and Informatics

"...covers the basics and the latest in genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, small RNAs, transcription factories, chromosome territories, stem cells, genetic networks, epigenetics, prions, hereditary diseases, and patents."

"...about 56% more words than the 1,392-page second edition of 2003. The number of illustrations increased to almost 2,000 and their quality has improved by design and four colors. In addition, cross-references among entries are expanded and the statements are supported by references: more than 14,000 journal papers and more than 3,000 books are listed."

"Target audience includes research workers in general genetics, genomics, proteomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, evolution, cytogenetics, human genetics, ethics, natural philosophy; professors...; physicians, law professionals; students...; science administrators and journal editors..."

Selected entries:

• C3 Plants
• C4 Plants
• Crop Plants
• Cryptogamic Plants
• Egg Plant ( Solanum melongena )
• Elite Plants
• Embryogenesis in Plants
• Entomology
• Genetic Sterilization (sterile insect technique, SIT)
• Hevea brasiliensis (rubber plant)
• Holometabolous Insect
• Insect Control, Genetic
• Insect Resistance in Plants
• Insect Viruses
• LDP (long-day plant)
• Light Controlled Reactions in Plants
• Long-Day Plants
• Lupines (leguminous plants)
• Mineral Requirements of Plants
• MITE (mariner insect transposon-like element, miniature inverted-repeat transposable element)
• Mitochondrial Abnormalities in Plants
• Molecular Plant Breeding
• Mustards (family of cruciferous plants)
• Phosphate Response of Plants
• Plant Breeding
• Plant Defense
• Plant Disease Resistance
• Plant Genomes
• Plant Genomics Database
• Plant Hormones
• Plant Pathogenesis
• Plant Vaccines
• Plant Viruses
• Plantibody (antibody synthesized by plants)
• Polyploid Crop Plants
• Regeneration of Plants
• Sex Determination in Plants
• Short-Day Plants
• SIT (sterile insect technique)
• Social Insects
• Sterile Insect Technology (SIT)
• Transposable Elements, Plants
• Transposons-Controlling Elements, Plant
• Vermilion Eye Color of Insects
• Virus-Free Plants
• Wildfire Disease of Plants

DNA barcoding mosquitoes to fight disease

"DNA barcoding" will be used in Africa to help identify and track the mosquito species that spread the worm larvae causing lymphatic filariasis (LF), commonly known as elephantiasis. This may lead to a minimized and more accurately-targeted application of insecticides.

The technology was kicked into high gear with the publication of "Barcoding animal life: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 divergences among closely related species" in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (Biological Sciences) by P.D.N. Hebert, S. Ratnasingham and J.R. deWaard of the University of Guelph in 2003.

See also:

• "DNA barcodes and insect biodiversity" - chapter in the book "Insect biodiversity: science and society"


• "Assembling DNA barcodes" - chapter in the book "Environmental genomics"


• "DNA barcoding of life: papers of a theme issue" - in the journal "Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London (Biological sciences)"

Corn / Maize bioinformatics

Panzea is an online bioinformatics database on the molecular and functional diversity of corn (maize, Zea mays).

Access genotype, phenotype and polymorphism data on this diverse crop species.

Related books...

• Molecular genetic approaches to maize improvement (2009)
  
• Handbook of maize: its biology (2008)
  
• Uncertain peril: genetic engineering and the future of seeds (2008)
• Creating abundance: biological innovation and American agricultural development (2008)
• Strongest boy in the world : how genetic information is reshaping our lives (2008)
• Plant embryogenesis (2008)
• Breeding major food staples (2007)
  

Dissertations...

• Evaluation of HPPD-inhibiting herbicides and tolerance of sweet corn (zea mays) hybrids to postemergence herbicides (2008)
  
• Role of the red: far-red light ratio in crop-weed competition and axillary meristem development in corn (2008)
• Assessing organic seed treatments for enhanced corn establishment (2008)
• Corn ethanol production in the Wisconsin agricultural context: energy efficiency, greenhouse gas neutrality and soil and water implications (2008)
  

Documents...

• Insect resistance management and refuge requirements for Bt corn (2008)
• Estimating the impact of climate change on crop yields: the importance of nonlinear temperature effects (2008)
• Henry Agard Wallace, the Iowa corn yield tests, and the adoption of hybrid corn (2008)

Videos...

• King corn: you are what you eat (2008)
  
• Corn (2007)

Articles...

• RNA Silencing Mediated by Direct Repeats in Maize: A Potential Tool for Functional Genomics (2009)
• Genetic diversity of Pakistani maize genotypes using chromosome specific simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer sets (2009)
  
• Addressing drought tolerance in maize by transcriptional profiling and mapping (2009)
• Chromosome segments involved with hybrid vigor in maize (Zea mays L.) (2008)