Jaiswal Lab

Source: Department of Botany and Plant Pathology News

Common bread wheat with a genome that is ~5 times the size of the human genome is a hexaploid, with three times more number of chromosomes compared to ancestral diploid genomes. This means that the bread wheat combines three different genomes and can make studying the genetic makeup of modern wheat difficult. Therefore, "studying ancestral genomes such as the wheat A, B and D genomes individually provide a baseline reference and new opportunities to investigate the genetic contribution of each of these genomes that lead to the development of bread wheat”. “It also gives us an opportunity to identify novel and beneficial stress tolerant genes in the wild ancestral genomes, that can be introduced into common bread wheat for improving varieties” added Jaiswal.

"Did you know that there are millions of DNA building blocks encoded in the genome of a plant? How can scientists possibly study this vast amount of data? With computers! Come and explore the tools of modern biology used to examine the complexities of DNA. This camp will involve hands-on activities where you will extract genetic material from a plant, assemble DNA sequences, identify genes using computers, examine your plant’s genome with visualization software, and test and look at your results in the laboratory. No programming skills required!"