PI: Shahryar F. Kianian (North Dakota State University - Fargo)
CoPIs: Anne M. Denton (North Dakota State University - Fargo), Oscar Riera-Lizarazu (Oregon State University), Ming-Cheng Luo (University of California - Davis), and Yong Qiang Gu and Gerry Lazo (University of California - Davis/USDA-ARS)
Complete sequencing of large and complex genomes of many crop plants such as wheat and other cereals provide a daunting challenge to the genomics community. In order to develop a complete map and finished sequence of the 3.2 Gb human genome, an independent high-resolution marker scaffold composed of 40,322 unique sequence tagged sites was constructed using ninety whole-genome radiation hybrids (RHs). This RH-based physical map was then used to order sequence information for more than 15,000 contigs to create the complete human genome map. The success of RH mapping in humans has inspired its use in the construction of complete physical maps for the majority of animal genomes prior to complete sequencing. This project will use a simple yet elegant method of developing high-resolution RH physical maps that will be used to anchor existing bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contigs and clones for the 4.2 Gb D-genome of hexaploid wheat. This anchoring and alignment will complement a larger effort by the international wheat genomics community to develop a global physical map and whole-genome sequence of this genome.
The tools, methods, and knowledge developed in this project can be applied to other crop species and will facilitate the construction of physical maps at a fraction of the cost of current methods. The maps generated will provide easy access to genes of biological and agricultural importance and will enable the development of new strategies to manipulate wheat to better serve the needs of a growing world population. In addition, the information developed in this project will allow for comparative analysis of wheat with rice, maize and other grass genomes to address important biological questions regarding gene organization and chromosome evolution. Access to the tools, methods, and knowledge developed in this project will be available through the project website (http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/RHmapping). Seed for all lines will be available by contacting project personnel or through the USDA National Small Grains Collection (Aberdeen, ID). In addition to the training of project students and postdoctoral associates, the project will partner with minority serving institutions including Mississippi Valley State University and the University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez to engage minority undergraduate students with an eight-week summer research training program in molecular genetics and bioinformatics.
Complete sequencing of large and complex genomes of many crop plants such as wheat and other cereals provide a daunting challenge to the genomics community. In order to develop a complete map and finished sequence of the human genome, an independent high-resolution scaffold was constructed using whole-genome radiation hybrids (RHs). This RH-based physical map was then used to order sequence information to create the complete human genome map. We devised a simple and an elegant method of developing high-resolution RH physical maps for the D-genome of hexaploid wheat. This technology allowed us to construct a fine marker scaffold. These maps are valuable tools for analysis of a great number of biologically and agronomically important genes, comparison with other grass genomes, and an unprecedented look at gene organization and chromosome evolution of these important crop plant genomes. These maps will provide easy access to genes of scientific and agricultural importance and the development of new strategies to manipulate crop plants to better serve the needs of a growing world population. We also used the resources of this project to train over 50 scientists including over 20 undergraduate students of different backgrounds and ethnicity. In addition we collaborated with five international institutions training their scientists in the use of this methodology and project resources. Additional information on this project can be found at http://avena.pw.usda.gov/RHmapping/.
