Researchers from Wales, working with colleagues in the United States, have completed the first high-resolution, comprehensive genetic map of miscanthus grass, which has been hailed as a promising energy crop.

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The researchers from a Californian company and IBERS (Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences), published their findings in scientific journal PLOS One yesterday. As part of an ongoing partnership, the IBERS team created the collection of genetically related plants and Ceres then sequenced and analyzed the DNA. In other crops, this type of comprehensive genetic mapping has resulted in significantly shortening product development timelines.

The mammoth project involved generation and analysis of more than 400 million DNA sequences creating a blueprint of the genetic alphabet of the plant. Researchers identified over 3,500 ‘markers’, genetic differences used to create the genetic map, which are also valuable for crop improvement purposes.

These leaps forward in understanding will contribute towards breeding programmes of the grass, which grows incredibly tall, fast and produces high yields, which has led to it being favoured as a biofuel in Europe. Although the crop has been grown on a relatively small scale over the past two decades, improved breeding would increase its viability.

High production costs and the fact that only a small number of cultivars are available have hampered uptake.

Dr Iain Donnison, head of the bioenergy team at IBERS, commented on other insights provided by the project, "The joint miscanthus development programme with Ceres has provided new insight into the evolution of the species as well as the similarities and differences in populations across different countries and environments. This rich library of information took decades to produce in other crops, but with modern biology and genomics technology Ceres and IBERS have put together what I believe is one of the world's most comprehensive marker-based breeding programs in miscanthus."

The researchers said they hoped their findings would form a significant contribution towards achieving sustainable feed-stocks for renewable energy, offering the potential for improving yields of bio feed-stocks without increasing inputs.

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