Improving Genomic Resources in Coconut and Finding Clues to Plant Breeding Using Comparative Genomics

Palms are one of the main groups of species of tropical ecosystems. Some of the species of this group play a key roles in the economy of coastal communities around the world. In recent years, a major effort has been undertaken to increase the genomic knowledge in the cultivated species of this taxon. However, this growth has not been symmetrical and some species of relevance like coconut lack genomic resources necessary to undertake biological analyzes. We developed a methodology that improves coconut transcriptomic data by exploits comparative genomics to Elaeis guineensis proteome. This approach responds to the limitations of fragmentation and redundancy inherent to transcriptomic data. The improvement of available data allowed us to explore the evolutionary history of some genes of interest in coconut’s response to environmental stresses. This analysis is a starting point to plant breeding programs in coconut.