A research term led by researcher Zhang Xiurong from Oil CropsResearch Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences combined withNational Center for Gene Research, CAS has completed a haplotype map of thesesame genome and GWAS on main agronomictraits. The research result has been published on journal Nature Communication on October 19, 2015.

Sesame was an important oilseed crop with high oil content. And itwas rich in unsaturated fatty acids, sesamin and other beneficial substances.Among the oilseed crops, sesame has high oil content and a small diploidgenome, making it an attractive species for genetic studies. Based on theprevious studies, the research team found more than 5 million SNP andconstructed a haplotype map of the sesame genome by doing WGS (whole genomesequencing) of 705 sesame germplasm from 29 countries.

The research team found that the sesame germplasm could bedivided into two ecological types of south and north through the analysis ofthe world sesame genetic diversity and colony structure. They also got 549related locus and 46 candidate genes by the GWAS on 56 important agronomictraits related to grease and output. Through the genetic analyzing of sesameoil content, it showed that the oil content was regulated not only by greasemetabolic enzyme but also by other genes, such as SiPPO and SiNST1. This discovery provides new opportunities for the genetic improvement of the oilcontent in oil crops. Through the correlation analysis of sesame seed fattyacid composition, they found several key genes of fatty acid metabolism andpreliminary analyzed the metabolic regulation network of sesame grease. The study also found a series of genes related to the output, the accumulation of these genes was an important factor of high output.

This study laid the foundation for the genetic improvement ofsesame, as well as provided the basic date and reference for the research andmolecular breeding on major oil crops such as rapeseed and soybean.

Time:2015.10.22

Source:people.com