Chang Yue, Liu Huan, Liu Min, Liao Xuezhu, Sahu Sunil Kumar, Fu Yuan, Song Bo, Cheng Shifeng, Kariba Robert, Muthemba Samuel, Hendre Prasad S, Mayes Sean, Ho Wai Kuan, Yssel Anna E J, Kendabie Presidor, Wang Sibo, Li Linzhou, Muchugi Alice, Jamnadass Ramni, Lu Haorong, Peng Shufeng, Van Deynze Allen, Simons Anthony, Yana-Shapiro Howard, Van de Peer Yves, Xu Xun, Yang Huanming, Wang Jian, Liu Xin
BGI-Shenzhen, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China.
China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Jinsha Road, Shenzhen 518120, China.
Gigascience. 2019 Mar 1;8(3). doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giy152.
The expanding world population is expected to double the worldwide demand for food by 2050. Eighty-eight percent of countries currently face a serious burden of malnutrition, especially in Africa and south and southeast Asia. About 95% of the food energy needs of humans are fulfilled by just 30 species, of which wheat, maize, and rice provide the majority of calories. Therefore, to diversify and stabilize the global food supply, enhance agricultural productivity, and tackle malnutrition, greater use of neglected or underutilized local plants (so-called orphan crops, but also including a few plants of special significance to agriculture, agroforestry, and nutrition) could be a partial solution.
Here, we present draft genome information for five agriculturally, biologically, medicinally, and economically important underutilized plants native to Africa: Vigna subterranea, Lablab purpureus, Faidherbia albida, Sclerocarya birrea, and Moringa oleifera. Assembled genomes range in size from 217 to 654 Mb. In V. subterranea, L. purpureus, F. albida, S. birrea, and M. oleifera, we have predicted 31,707, 20,946, 28,979, 18,937, and 18,451 protein-coding genes, respectively. By further analyzing the expansion and contraction of selected gene families, we have characterized root nodule symbiosis genes, transcription factors, and starch biosynthesis-related genes in these genomes.
These genome data will be useful to identify and characterize agronomically important genes and understand their modes of action, enabling genomics-based, evolutionary studies, and breeding strategies to design faster, more focused, and predictable crop improvement programs.
预计到2050年，不断增长的世界人口将使全球粮食需求翻番。目前，88%的国家面临严重的营养不良负担，尤其是在非洲以及南亚和东南亚地区。人类约95%的食物能量需求仅由30种物种满足，其中小麦、玉米和水稻提供了大部分热量。因此，为了使全球粮食供应多样化和稳定，提高农业生产力并解决营养不良问题，更多地利用被忽视或未充分利用的本地植物（所谓的孤儿作物，也包括一些对农业、农林业和营养具有特殊意义的植物）可能是一个部分解决方案。
在此，我们展示了五种原产于非洲的在农业、生物学、医学和经济方面具有重要意义但未充分利用的植物的基因组草图信息：非洲豇豆、扁豆、大叶相思、马鲁拉树和辣木。组装后的基因组大小在217至654兆碱基之间。在非洲豇豆、扁豆、大叶相思、马鲁拉树和辣木中，我们分别预测了31,707、20,946、28,979、18,937和18,451个蛋白质编码基因。通过进一步分析选定基因家族的扩增和收缩情况，我们对这些基因组中的根瘤共生基因、转录因子和淀粉生物合成相关基因进行了表征。
这些基因组数据将有助于识别和表征具有重要农艺意义的基因，并了解其作用模式，从而开展基于基因组学的进化研究和育种策略，以设计更快、更有针对性且可预测的作物改良计划。
