World’s first date palm genetic map published

Researchers at the Weill Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) have published the first genetic map of the date palm, according to a report.
The genetic map shows the order in which the date palm’s chromosomes are placed and also which chromosome is responsible for reproduction.
“In theory, the information could one day allow growers to manipulate the development of seeds, creating more female fruit-bearing plants than male plants that do not produce dates, an important food source for much of the Middle East,” the report said.
Scientists from Saudi Arabia and China completed mapping the genome of the date-palm tree late last year.
Scientists from Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and China’s Shenzhen-based BGI had been working on the project since 2008.
The map has been produced by the genomics group under the direction of Joel Malek, assistant professor of Genetic Medicine at WCMC-Q, in collaboration with Karsten Suhre, professor of physiology and biophysics at WCMC-Q, and with the help of colleagues at the Ministry of Environment’s Biotechnology Center and the Department of Agricultural Affairs.
The program, entitled “Establishing World Leadership in Date Palm Research in Qatar,” was funded by the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) at the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), which provided $4.5 million to the research.
Malek and his team produced a draft version of the date palm genome three years ago.
It was this that paved the way for the more accurate map. To create the map, Malek and Suhre worked with the Ministry of the Environment’s Biotechnology Center and their Department of Agricultural Affairs.
The ministry provided the researchers with 150 seeds from a single female tree, which were then propagated by Ameena Al-Malki at the Biotechnology Center.
Leaves and DNA were taken from the seedlings once they were large enough for testing. A new process called genotyping-by-sequencing was then applied which sequenced portions of the genomes of all 150 seedlings. It allowed the researchers to look at the parent tree and ascertain how the DNA was passed to the offspring.
Khaled Machaca, associate dean of research at WCMC-Q, said the research demonstrates the value of funding novel, regionally relevant, collaborative research between different organizations.
“The NPRP exceptional proposal (NPRP-EP) funding the date palm research was the first NPRP-EP awarded by QNRF,” he said.
“It funds regionally relevant research that has a high likelihood of contributing toward Qatar’s knowledge-based economy vision. This funding is beginning to bear fruits by generating the first chromosome map for date palm through collaborative efforts of multiple institutions in Qatar.”