Annotation and Analysis of a Draft Sequence for the Brassica rapa Genome

Annotation and Analysis of a Draft Sequence for the Brassica rapa Genome
Wang et al., Nature Genetics
Members of the Brassica rapa Genome Sequencing Project Consortium report their annotation and analysis of a draft genome sequence for accession Chiifu-401-42 of the Chinese cabbage. Using Arabidopsis thalianaas an outgroup to investigate the consequences of genome triplication, the team found that the "extent of gene loss … among triplicated genome segments varies, with one of the three copies consistently retaining a disproportionately large fraction of the genes expected to have been present in its ancestor." Overall, the authors say "the B. rapa genome sequence provides an important resource for studying the evolution of polyploid genomes and underpins the genetic improvement of Brassica oil and vegetable crops."