Researchers at the University of Nottingham assembled a chromosome-level haplotype-resolved genome sequence of Aegilops mutica. The research has been published in Scientific Data and contributes to a growing body of research aimed at safeguarding global wheat production in the face of climate change and emerging plant diseases.

The study was led by Dr Surbhi Grewal, Assistant Professor in the School of Biosciences and conducted as part of the Nottingham Wheat Research Centre’s (WRC) ongoing pre-breeding programme.

The breeding programme aims to introduce beneficial genetic diversity from wild species into cultivated wheat varieties. By using specialist sequencing techniques, Dr Grewal, along with her colleagues at the University of Nottingham and collaborators at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Earlham Institute, have produced a high-quality fully-annotated genome assembly and valuable insights into the genetic architecture of Aegilops mutica, a species known for its adaptability to challenging environmental conditions.