Oilseed rape polyploid genome jointly decoded by Chinese and foreign scientists

Recently, led by the International Brassica Genome Sequencing Consortium, the genome sequencing of Brassica napus was completed for the first time. This is the first complete sequencing and assembly of the complex genome of a traditional polyploid crop internationally, and it also completed a systematic comparison and evolutionary analysis with its parental species. The Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences was a major participant in this work. This breakthrough research result was published on August 22 in the internationally top-tier journal Science.

Brassica napus is a major oil crop in China. Research found that the genome of winter Brassica napus contains at least more than 100,000 protein-coding genes, making it the species with the largest number of genes among the plant species sequenced to date. By comparing it with the genomes of its parental species, cabbage and Chinese cabbage, it was found that a prominent feature of the evolution of this genome is the extensive mutual exchange of genes or DNA sequences between the two subgenomes (A and C). The revelation of this pattern has important theoretical value for research on polyploid genetics and evolution.

Liu Shengyi, one of the technical leaders of the project and a researcher at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that the next step will focus on exploring, from the genomic perspective, the coordinated evolution patterns of this polyploid and their impact on trait formation, as well as the mechanisms underlying the formation of polyploid advantage.