This study will accelerate the development of new onion varieties that are resistant to conditions such as drought and will meet the increasing demand for onions in the world. According to plant breeder Richard Finkers , putting together parts of this genome, which is about sixteen times larger than the tomato genome and five times larger than that of humans, was a major puzzle.
Packed with vitamins and minerals, onions are one of the most grown vegetables in the world and an important component of human nutrition in many countries.
Plant breeder Olga Scholten said, “If onions are to be grown all over the world, we need varieties suitable for different growing conditions. For example, fungal diseases can damage onions, causing significant crop losses. That's why we need onions that are resistant to fungal diseases. “With the onion genome available, it will now be easier to develop new varieties.”
A puzzle of 100,000 pieces
The size of the onion genome meant that deciphering it was an important task. For Finkers, putting the onion genome together was like putting together a 100,000-piece puzzle, 95,000 of which are simply pieces of blue sky. Stating that only 5000 pieces in the puzzle make a real difference, Finkers said that with the help of the latest DNA sequencing technologies, they have largely succeeded in sequencing.
Related Products
Finkers adds that other researchers and plant breeders can take advantage of the opportunities presented by this published genome sequence. This work will allow the screening of many cultivars or wild species and their merging, thereby expanding the knowledge base. Thus, beneficial traits from different onion cultivars or related wild species can be combined and incorporated into a crossbreeding program.
Plant breeders hope that access to the onion genome sequence will double the speed of breeding work, reducing it to about six or seven years.
“The role of certain genes in conferring disease resistance or drought tolerance in other crops such as potatoes and rice has already been extensively studied. Based on the sequence information obtained from the genes in these crops, plant breeders can now more easily identify similar genes in the onion genome and more accurately advance their own breeding efforts.”