This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Rye is not only a hardy and high-yielding crop, but also possesses a valuable gene pool for wheat breeding. An international research team led by the IPK Leibniz Institute has significantly improved the foundations for research and breeding by publishing a high-quality reference genome sequence.
For the first time, the sequence includes the complete centromeres of all seven chromosome pairs. Centromeres are important for the correct distribution of genetic information during cell division. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Rye shares a close, long evolutionary history with barley and wheat. However, its history as a major crop is considerably shorter. While barley and wheat were "domesticated" 10,000 years ago in the so-called Fertile Crescent of the Near East, rye initially spread as a field weed.
In the process, rye gradually adopted some characteristics of its two "big brothers and sisters" until, 5,000–6,000 years ago, it too became a cultivated species in its own right and, in the Middle Ages, emerged as the most important bread grain in Northern Europe. However, rye's large, complex genome poses challenges for science. Not only is the genome significantly larger than the human genome, but it also consists of almost 90% repetitive DNA sequences.
Previous reference sequences, such as the one produced at the IPK in 2021, represented useful and important advances for research and breeding. However, they remained incomplete and too imprecise. They contained gaps, misaligned sections, collapsed regions and, not least, incompletely mapped centromeres.
The latter are fundamental during cell division to ensure that daughter cells receive the same genetic information and can function properly. To create the improved reference sequence, the research team used state-of-the-art sequencing technologies available at the IPK. First, the team sequenced long DNA molecules from the Lo7 line.
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