title: The Cassava Genome: Current Progress, Future Directions.
abstract: The starchy swollen roots of cassava provide an essential food source for nearly a billion people, as well as possibilities for bioenergy, yet improvements to nutritional content and resistance to threatening diseases are currently impeded. A 454-based whole genome shotgun sequence has been assembled, which covers 69% of the predicted genome size and 96% of protein-coding gene space, with genome finishing underway. The predicted 30,666 genes and 3,485 alternate splice forms are supported by 1.4 M expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Maps based on simple sequence repeat (SSR)-, and EST-derived single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) already exist. Thanks to the genome sequence, a high-density linkage map is currently being developed from a cross between two diverse cassava cultivars: one susceptible to cassava brown streak disease; the other resistant. An efficient genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach is being developed to catalog SNPs both within the mapping population and among diverse African farmer-preferred varieties of cassava. These resources will accelerate marker-assisted breeding programs, allowing improvements in disease-resistance and nutrition, and will help us understand the genetic basis for disease resistance.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prochnik
authors.forename: Pradeep Reddy
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Marri
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Desany
authors.forename: Pablo D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Rabinowicz
authors.forename: Chinnappa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kodira
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohiuddin
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fauquet
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tohme
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harkins
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Rokhsar
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rounsley