Why are comparative genetic studies important to crop improvement, and how do they work?
Scientists have now completed the genome sequences of several plant species – including Arabidopsis and rice – and because crops only diverged from a common ancestor relatively recently, their genetic makeup and gene expression is similar. Sections of the genome have been conserved across many crops, which allows for the application of genetic studies from one crop to another, hence the “comparative” in comparative genetic studies. So, research on important stress tolerance genes in rice can have major impact in, say, finding disease resistance genes in wheat.
