The Sequenced Oat Genome

CropTailor pioneered the sequencing of the entire hexaploid oat genome positioning CropTailor in the vanguard of oat research (see “CropTailor cracks the genetic code of oat”). The genome was sequenced at a 270 times redundancy (all together 20 billion fragments, 2,7 trillion base pairs) by shotgun sequencing. In collaboration with the research project ScanOats at Lund University a high-quality assembly of the genome was made.  The academic side of this work culminated in the 2022 Nature article ‘The mosaic oat genome gives insights into a uniquely healthy cereal crop’ (Kamal et al., 2022). Read more about this endevour in Food Ingredients First.

Beyond the reference genome CropTailor has also performed whole genome re-sequencing of lines from our mutagenized oat population (CT-lines) which, together with the reference genome, opens up for mapping most EMS mutations introduced in our oat population to associated traits. This, in combination with complementary gene mapping- and expression analysis methods, makes it possible to pinpoint the specific mutation giving rise to a given modified trait in a specific CT-line. With our unique mutant population and our Targeted Allele Mining pipeline, we can discover and deliver a wide range of traits to our customers as well as develop new specialized lines for the market.