For peanuts: 1st genome sequence could enhance production in Texas

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The release of the first peanut genome sequences from the International Peanut Genome Initiative should have major effects on Texas peanut production for years to come, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist says.

The new sequence “will allow for faster and more accurate selection of peanuts with improved traits,” said Mark Burow, AgriLife Research peanut geneticist in Lubbock. “This will help with releasing new varieties to improve grower profitability and consumer health.”

Burow and his colleagues worked to sequence tens of thousands of genes in each of 22 peanut accessions, 10 wild and 12 cultivated, including varieties developed in Texas.

The genome initiative is a multinational group of crop geneticists that collaborated for several years to successfully sequence the peanut genome. The organization brings together scientists from the U.S., China, Brazil, India and Israel to characterize variation in the DNA and traits of cultivated and wild peanuts, and  to develop genomic tools for peanut breeding.

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