The International Peach Genome Initiative’s decision to release the genetic makeup of the peach ahead of publication in a scientific journal could have far-reaching implications for the future of peaches and related Rosaceae plants like almonds, blackberries, apples, cherries, plums, raspberries, roses, strawberries and trees such as poplar, citrus and chestnut.“Having access to even a piece of the genome sequence can save researchers literally years of work,” said Dorrie Main, associate professor of bioinformatics in the WSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Main, who has been working on the peach genome project since 2001, said that making the data publicly available means that scientists investigating genetic sequences to identify the genes controlling important traits in peach or other plants will be able to both use and refine the information immediately.
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