W530
Date palm genome and transcriptome sequencing
Time: 2:50 PM
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a unique cultivated woody tree species with agricultural and economic importance. In the first stage of DPGP, we constructed 14 cDNA libraries from different P. dactylifera tissues (cultivar Khalas) and acquired 15,778,993 raw sequencing reads using GS FLX sequencer—about one million sequencing reads per library—and the pooled sequences were assembled into 67,651 non-redundant contigs and 301,978 singletons. We annotated 52,725 contigs based on the plant databases. In another study, we acquired 7.6 million GS FLX reads from seven developmental stages of date palm fruits. Based on gene ontology categorization and pathway analysis, we have identified 10 core cell division genes, 18 ripening related genes, and 7 starch metabolic enzymes, which are involved as nutrition storage and sugar/starch metabolisms. We noticed that many metabolic pathways vary significantly during fruit development, and carbohydrate metabolism (sugar synthesis) is prominent during fruit ripening.
Lately, we produced a high-quality genome assembly for an elite cultivar (Khalas) and three high-coverage draft sequences for other selected cultivars. The assembly is 605.4 Mb in size, covering >90% of the genome (~671 Mb) and >96% of its genes (~41,660 genes). Our genome-wide sequence analysis suggests that the P. dactylifera genome had gone through a clear genome-wide duplication. Genetic diversity analysis indicates that stress resistance and sugar metabolism-related genes tend to be enriched in the chromosomal regions where the density of SNPs is relatively low. Using a large amount of transcriptomics data, we illustrate its unique sugar metabolism during fruit development.