ABSTRACT
The availability of a reference genome sequence for a species greatly assists in the scientifi c study of the species and its relatives. The sequencing of the human genome and subsequent analysis of genome variation and association with geographic regions or disease susceptibility is one of the greatest achievements of mankind (Altshuler et al. 2005; Venter et al. 2001). This information has led to a greater understanding of the origin of our species and is leading to cures for many inherited diseases. The sequencing of plant genomes has lagged behind somewhat, but with the ever-reducing
1Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072 Australia; e-mail: Dave.Edwards@uq.edu.au 2Institute of vegetables and fl owers, CAAS, Zhongguancun Nandajie No.12, Haidian district, Beijing, 100081, China. *Corresponding author
cost of producing reference genome sequences, there is a rush to sequence a broad range of plant and crop species (Edwards and Batley 2009; Imelfort et al. 2009; Imelfort and Edwards 2009).
