"A new era in agriculture: genome editing from telomere to telomere eliminates stressful conditions and increases crop yield."

The complete genome assembly from telomere to telomere opens up new possibilities for the development of agricultural crops that are highly resistant to drought, salinity, and pests.

The international study "Illuminating plant genetics using complete telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies" was conducted by scientists from the Centre of Excellence in Plant Sciences (CEPS) at Murdoch University.

Thanks to the complete telomere-to-telomere (T2T) assemblies, scientists were able to compare the entire genome structure, which serves as the foundation for molecular breeding to enhance plant productivity under various stressful conditions.

Professor Rajeev Varshney, the lead researcher and director of CEPS, stated that genome analysis is a cornerstone of genetic research.

“Genome assembly is like putting together pieces of a puzzle, where each part of the genome is assembled meticulously. T2T complete genome assemblies form a complete and continuous picture of the genome. Our task is to ensure that thousands of genes in the genome are arranged correctly along the chromosome and that they interact harmoniously,” Professor Varshney said.

Dr. Vanika Garg, the lead author of the first scientific publication and a researcher at CEPS, noted that the achieved level of precision in gene sequencing has led to a real breakthrough.

“Previously, T2T genome assembly was impossible due to inaccurate gene sequencing, which could lead to errors, including incorrect annotations. This meant that genes responsible for desired traits could be missed. However, with advancements in sequencing technologies, we can finally obtain full T2T genome assemblies for any agricultural crops,” Dr. Garg said.

Currently, Professor Varshney and his research group are collaborating with several laboratories from Australia, the UK, Germany, the USA, and China in developing T2T or near-complete genome assemblies for several crops such as wheat, chickpea, horse gram, papaya, passion fruit, custard apple (cherimoya, a valuable tropical fruit), banana, and pineapple.

“Together with our colleagues from different countries, we are applying T2T genome assembly methods to multiple agricultural crops and are pleased to see how this contributes to the advancement of agricultural research in Australia and abroad. T2T genome assemblies provide access to previously inaccessible genome regions and open up new possibilities for research, such as creating new varieties of agricultural crops that meet our future needs,” Professor Varshney concluded.