Latest research progress made in the potato genome project

News from New York on March 31: the Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (PGSC) said that the Dutch government will contribute 3 million euros (about 3.6 million US dollars) to sequence the first potato chromosome, and, in cooperation with research organizations from other countries, complete the sequencing of the potato genome (840 Mb) in 2010, making a contribution to the future global food supply.

PGSC was initially initiated by NGI (the Netherlands Genomics Initiative) and Wageningen University and Research Centre, and has research teams from 16 different countries, mainly tasked with receiving the full DNA sequence determination of potato. The participating countries include Brazil, Chile, Peru, Canada, the United States, Denmark, France, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, China and New Zealand.

The potato genome consists of 12 chromosomes, and the various research teams have already selected different chromosomes. To give the research groups a high starting point, researchers at Wageningen University made many advance preparations, such as DNA databases, maps of the 12 chromosomes, and so on.

On the path of genome sequencing, exploring the most fundamental mysteries of life, many governments and countries have invested large sums of money. For example, in human genome research, the United States invested a total of 2.7665 billion US dollars over 13 years (calculated at constant 1991 prices); in the process of sequencing the domestic pig genome in cooperation with Denmark, China's Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others also invested funds equivalent to about 10 million US dollars. It is hoped that these investments can realize their due value.