Chinese researchers map pan-genome of rice

BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Chinese researchers have presented nearly complete genomes of 13 representative wild rice species and constructed an ultra pan-genome map of rice.
By integrating with four previously published genomes for pan-genome analysis, the researchers from the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Hebei University identified a total of 101,723 gene families of rice.
They discovered 63,881 new gene families in cultivated rice, expanding the available rice genes by 1.7 times.
Additionally, the researchers identified 7,048 resistance genes in the rice genus, including 237 resistance gene families in cultivated rice and 384 ones in wild rice.
This revealed that the resistance genes of cultivated rice tend to exist in clusters, while those of wild rice mainly stay in single form.
The study has been recently published in the journal Nature Communications. It greatly expanded the gene pool for rice genetic improvement and facilitated the innovative utilization of wild rice seeds, as well as supporting the research of rice evolution and domestication. ■