Bhopal: IISER Scientists Carry Out First-Ever Genome Sequencing Of Amla Plant

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, have for the first time, unravelled the draft genome of Indian gooseberry plant known as amla. Understanding the genetic composition of amla can help us understand their origins, evolution and how they create the biochemicals that are of medicinal value.

The team led by Dr Vineet Sharma, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences includes Shruti Mahajan, Manohar Singh Bisht and Abhisek Chakraborty from the institute.

About the technical approach of IISER Team, Sharma said, "We analysed the genome and transcriptome of amla plant using leaves from our campus. We employed advanced sequencing technologies including 10x Genomics and Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) long-read sequencing, along with transcriptome sequencing." Apart from obtaining draft genome structure of amla for the first time, the researchers also identified genes responsible for vitamin C biosynthesis and compared them with genes in other plants that bear vitamin C-rich fruits.