The banana (Musa acuminata) genome and the evolution of monocotyledonous plants

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 488; no. 7410; pp. 213 - 217
• Main Authors: D’Hont, Angélique, Denoeud, France, Aury, Jean-Marc, Baurens, Franc-Christophe, Carreel, Françoise, Garsmeur, Olivier, Noel, Benjamin, Bocs, Stéphanie, Droc, Gaëtan, Rouard, Mathieu, Da Silva, Corinne, Jabbari, Kamel, Cardi, Céline, Poulain, Julie, Souquet, Marlène, Labadie, Karine, Jourda, Cyril, Lengellé, Juliette, Rodier-Goud, Marguerite, Alberti, Adriana, Bernard, Maria, Correa, Margot, Ayyampalayam, Saravanaraj, Mckain, Michael R., Leebens-Mack, Jim, Burgess, Diane, Freeling, Mike, Mbéguié-A-Mbéguié, Didier, Chabannes, Matthieu, Wicker, Thomas, Panaud, Olivier, Barbosa, Jose, Hribova, Eva, Heslop-Harrison, Pat, Habas, Rémy, Rivallan, Ronan, Francois, Philippe, Poiron, Claire, Kilian, Andrzej, Burthia, Dheema, Jenny, Christophe, Bakry, Frédéric, Brown, Spencer, Guignon, Valentin, Kema, Gert, Dita, Miguel, Waalwijk, Cees, Joseph, Steeve, Dievart, Anne, Jaillon, Olivier, Leclercq, Julie, Argout, Xavier, Lyons, Eric, Almeida, Ana, Jeridi, Mouna, Dolezel, Jaroslav, Roux, Nicolas, Risterucci, Ange-Marie, Weissenbach, Jean, Ruiz, Manuel, Glaszmann, Jean-Christophe, Quétier, Francis, Yahiaoui, Nabila, Wincker, Patrick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.08.2012; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Arecales; Banana; Binding sites; Biological and medical sciences; Conserved Sequence; Conserved Sequence - genetics; differential expression; diversification; DNA Transposable Elements; DNA Transposable Elements - genetics; dna-sequences; Domestication; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Food security; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gene; Gene Duplication; Gene Duplication - genetics; Generalities. Genetics. Plant material; Genes, Plant; Genes, Plant - genetics; Genetic aspects; Genetic resources, diversity; Genetics; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; Genome, Plant; Genome, Plant - genetics; Genomes; Genomics; Genotype; Haploidy; Haploidy, in vitro culture applications, somatic hybrids; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hybrids; identification; in-situ hybridization; letter; Life Sciences; maximum-likelihood; Molecular Sequence Data; multidisciplinary; Musa; Musa - classification; Musa - genetics; Musa acuminata; Origin, evolution, domestication; Phylogeny; Plant breeding: fundamental aspects and methodology; Plant material; Plant propagation; Plants; Proteins; resource; rice; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); sequence count data; Species diversity; Vegetal Biology; Zingiberales; Asia; South east Asia; France; United States; Switzerland; Molecular evolution; Monocotyledones; Genome organization; Fruit crop; Angiospermae; Tropical crop; Domestication; Musaceae; Spermatophyta; Hybridization; Food supply; Banana; identification; gene; resource; maximum likelihood; differential expression; sequence count data; diversification; rice; dna sequences; in situ hybridization
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature11241

The sequencing and analysis of the banana genome is reported; these results inform plant phylogenetic relationships and genome evolution, and provide a resource for future genetic improvement of this important crop species. Banana genome-sequence analysis Bananas ( Musa spp.) are a staple food and a major source of income in many tropical and subtropical countries. This paper reports the sequencing and analysis of the banana genome. This is the first non-grass monocotyledon to have its genome sequenced, providing an important bridge for comparative genome analysis in plants. Global banana production is under threat from increasingly well-adapted pests and diseases, so the availability of the genome sequence is an important resource for future crop development and improvement. Bananas ( Musa spp.), including dessert and cooking types, are giant perennial monocotyledonous herbs of the order Zingiberales, a sister group to the well-studied Poales, which include cereals. Bananas are vital for food security in many tropical and subtropical countries and the most popular fruit in industrialized countries 1 . The Musa domestication process started some 7,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. It involved hybridizations between diverse species and subspecies, fostered by human migrations 2 , and selection of diploid and triploid seedless, parthenocarpic hybrids thereafter widely dispersed by vegetative propagation. Half of the current production relies on somaclones derived from a single triploid genotype (Cavendish) 1 . Pests and diseases have gradually become adapted, representing an imminent danger for global banana production 3 , 4 . Here we describe the draft sequence of the 523-megabase genome of a Musa acuminata doubled-haploid genotype, providing a crucial stepping-stone for genetic improvement of banana. We detected three rounds of whole-genome duplications in the Musa lineage, independently of those previously described in the Poales lineage and the one we detected in the Arecales lineage. This first monocotyledon high-continuity whole-genome sequence reported outside Poales represents an essential bridge for comparative genome analysis in plants. As such, it clarifies commelinid-monocotyledon phylogenetic relationships, reveals Poaceae-specific features and has led to the discovery of conserved non-coding sequences predating monocotyledon–eudicotyledon divergence.