Scientists from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Beijing
Genomics Institute successfully decoded the genome sequence of tree cotton
(Gossypium arboreum). The details of the sequence are published in Nature
Genetics.

After the successfully sequencing wild cotton G. raimondii in 2012,
researchers started the work on deciphering the genome of G. arboreum. They
used whole-genome shotgun approach, yielding a draft cotton genome with the
size of 1,694 Mb. About 90.4% of the G. arboretum assembled scaffolds were
anchored and oriented on 13 pseudochromosomes.

According to the researchers, the genome sequence will be an important
reference for the assembly of tetraploid cotton genomes and for evolutionary
studies of Gossypium species. It also provides an essential tool for the
identification, isolation, and manipulation of important cotton genes
involved in agronomic traits through molecular breeding and genetic
improvement.

[www.genomics.cn]