Plant genomics: present state and a perspective on future developments

Area of Science:

• Plant science
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• The year 2001 marked significant advancements in genomics, particularly for the human genome.
• Plant genomics research has also seen rapid progress, despite modest resource allocation.
• Expressed sequence tag (EST) resources are abundant for many plant species, facilitating comparative genomics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the rapid progress in plant genomics in 2001.
• To identify achievements and challenges in plant genome research.
• To anticipate future directions in plant biology research.

Main Methods:

• Genomic sequencing of model plants like Arabidopsis.
• Progress monitoring of large-genome crop sequencing projects.
• Development and utilization of expressed sequence tag (EST) resources.
• Analysis of integrated physical-genetic maps.

Main Results:

• The genomic sequence of Arabidopsis (125 megabases) is nearly complete.
• Rice genome sequencing is advancing quickly.
• EST resources are plentiful for inter-specific comparisons.
• Progress in integrated physical-genetic maps for large-genome crops is slower than desired.

Conclusions:

• While model plant genomes are being sequenced, challenges persist for large crop genomes due to size and resource limitations.
• Industry-driven plant genome research presents accessibility issues for academia.
• Future research will likely emphasize metabolic profiling, RNA profiling, proteomics, and integrated systems biology approaches in plant science.