Indian initiative publishes first draft of the pigeonpea genome

First draft of the pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) genome of the variety ‘Asha’ was recently published by two reports. Singh et al. A 510.81 Mbp genome size and 47,004 protein coding genes were identified from a 10x sequence coverage of the genome. According to the lead author this is the first plant genome sequencing project that was completed entirely by a network of Indian institutions supported by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Pigeonpea (Hindi names: Arhar and Toor) is an important grain legume of the Indian subcontinent, South-East Asia and East Africa.

Another study by Varshney et al. in an International collaboration lead by the ICRISAT reported 72.7% (605.78 Mb) of the 833.07 Mb pigeonpea genome with 48,680 predicted protein coding genes. Both studies found number of disease resistance genes and an enriched set of genetic markers which will help the legume breeders in improving pigeonpea varieties.