Avena strigosa – from Biosynthetic Gene Clusters to Genomics

We have defined a large multi-gene cluster for the biosynthesis of antimicrobial triterpenes (avenacins) that protect oats against soil-borne pathogens such as take-all, and have now cloned and characterized all of the genes and enzymes of the pathway. Work is underway to engineer this pathway into wheat and other plants for enhanced disease resistance. In parallel, in a collaborative project with Professor Bin Han (Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology) the genome sequence of our diploid oat reference species Avena strigosa (accession S75) has been determined de novo using whole genome shot-gun sequencing (genome size 4 Gb; N50 contig 24,079; N50 scaffold 378,734). We have also recently established a TILLING platform. Progress on the development of tools and resources for oat genetics and genomics for investigations of specialised metabolism and broader analyses will be reported.