The Whole-Genome Sequence and the Assembly of the Japanese Morning Glory (Ipomoea nil).
Nov. 21, 2016
A Japanese research group achieved success in whole-genome sequence and assembly of the Japanese morning glory. The Faculty of Science at Kyushu University made special contributions to the study.
A Genetic research on the Japanese morning glory or Ipomoea nil has been conducted in Japan since 1916. This year, the 100 anniversary, Japanese researchers from research institutions, including the National Institute for Basic Biology, Keio University, and Kyushu University, reported a draft genome of the Japanese morning glory. Eiji Nitasaka, the director of the Japanese Morning Glory Stock Center at the Faculty of Science at Kyushu University also took part in the research.
The genome sequence of the Japanese morning glory has the highest quality in fully sequenced plant genome. Mobile genes or transposons inducing most mutations and the candidate gene for contracted mutation were also identified with this genome information.
Nitasaka said, “Our center has been appointed as one of the centers for National BioResource Project (NBRP) since 2002, and we have been maintaining more than 1,500 strains of the Japanese morning glory. This near-complete genome information will enhance the research of Japanese morning glory and related fields. I hope our mutant collection will be used by many plant researchers around the world.”
The study was published online in Nature Communications on November 8, 2016.