Genome of salt-secreting mangrove species identified

The findings will play a key role in developing drought and salt-tolerant food crops for the 7,500 km long Indian coastline.

: A group of researchers from the Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai; Centre for Advanced Studies in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University and Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, have for the first time identified a reference-grade whole genome sequence of a highly salt-tolerant and salt-secreting mangrove species, Avicennia marina. Mangroves are important resources for the coastal region and are of great ecological and economic value. They form a link between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, protect shorelines, provide habitat for a diverse array of terrestrial organisms. The team of researchers sequenced nearly 99 % of the genome of the species and aligned them to 31 chromosomes of the species. The findings have been published in the latest issue of Nature Communications Biology.