COMPARATIVE MAPPING OF GRASS GENOMES

¹ Applied Genetic Technology Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

² Dept Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843

³ USDA-ARS, College Station, TX, 77843

⁴ USDA-ARS Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, GA, 31793

⁵ Texas Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Dallas, TX

Different grasses (fam. Poaceae) have been domesticated and improved by humans for a wide range of purposes. In recent years, underlying similarity of gene repertoire and organization in different grass genomes has become evident, setting the stage for a wide range of comparative biological investigations. Our recent efforts have sought to accelerate progress in genetic and molecular analysis of diverse grass genomes that are less well-characterized genetically, such as Pennisetum (buffelgrass), Cynodon (bermudagrass), and Zoysia. By "comparative mapping" of gene order along the chromosomes of different grasses, a framework is being built to apply valuable genomic data from selected models such as the sorghum physical map or rice genomic sequence, to detailed molecular dissection of structural and functional diversity of grass genomes.