Some grass species play a pivotal role in meeting our food supply needs. We have also seen a surge in the domestication of new grass crops for feedstock production and sustainable energy. Experts say, however, that failure to understand how genes work and a lack of knowledge about their large and complex genomes lead to obstacles that restrict crop improvement.By sequencing B. distachyon, the researchers shed light on how grass genomes develop and expand. The study was led by the John Innes Centre in the UK, Oregon State University in the US, and the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and US Department of Agriculture.
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