| Abstract: | The genome of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is being sequenced by an internationalconsortium of 10 countries (Korea, China, the United Kingdom, India, TheNetherlands, France, Japan, Spain, Italy and the United States) as part of a larger initiativecalled the ‘International Solanaceae Genome Project (SOL): Systems Approachto Diversity and Adaptation’. The goal of this grassroots initiative, launched inNovember 2003, is to establish a network of information, resources and scientiststo ultimately tackle two of the most significant questions in plant biology and agriculture:(1) How can a common set of genes/proteins give rise to a wide range ofmorphologically and ecologically distinct organisms that occupy our planet? (2) Howcan a deeper understanding of the genetic basis of plant diversity be harnessed tobetter meet the needs of society in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner?The Solanaceae and closely related species such as coffee, which are includedin the scope of the SOL project, are ideally suited to address both of these questions.The first step of the SOL project is to use an ordered BAC approach to generate ahigh quality sequence for the euchromatic portions of the tomato as a reference forthe Solanaceae. Due to the high level of macro and micro-synteny in the Solanaceaethe BAC-by-BAC tomato sequence will form the framework for shotgun sequencingof other species. The starting point for sequencing the genome is BACs anchoredto the genetic map by overgo hybridization and AFLP technology. The overgos arederived from approximately 1500 markers from the tomato high density F2-2000genetic map (http://sgn.cornell.edu/). These seed BACs will be used as anchors fromwhich to radiate the tiling path using BAC end sequence data. Annotation will beperformed according to SOL project guidelines. All the information generated underthe SOL umbrella will be made available in a comprehensive website. The informationwill be interlinked with the ultimate goal that the comparative biology of theSolanaceae—and beyond—achieves a context that will facilitate a systems biologyapproach. |
