A consortium of researchers in
Bangladesh successfully completed draft
genome sequencing for the
jute plant.
The consortium consisted of
Dhaka University
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
,
Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, and
software company DataSoft Systems Bangladesh Ltd. It worked in collaboration with Centre for Chemical Biology,
University of Science Malaysia
Universiti Sains Malaysia ( 'Science University of Malaysia'; abbreviated as USM) is a public research university in Malaysia. Founded on 1 June 1969 as a statutory body with its own constitution, it is among the oldest institutes of higher l ...
, and
University of Hawaii at
Manoa.
On June 16, 2010, Bangladeshi Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina disclosed in
the parliament that Bangladeshi researchers had successfully completed the draft genome sequencing, which was anticipated to contribute to improvements in jute fiber production.
History
It all began in February 2008, when
Maqsudul Alam
Maqsudul Alam (14 December 1954 – 20 December 2014) was a Bangladeshi-born life-science scientist who is known for his work on genome sequencing. His work on genome sequencing started with bacteria '' Idiomarina loihiensis'' in 2003. He came in ...
approached Professor
Ahmad Shamsul Islam
Ahmad Shamsul Islam (born August 6, 1924) is a Bangladeshi scientist and educator. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1987 by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution to education. He is serving as a Professor of the Department of Botany at ...
, Coordinator of
GNOBB (Global Network of Bangladeshi Biotechnologists) regarding the possibility of sequencing the jute genome. The Bangladeshi science community, which was already looking into the possibility of getting the jute genome sequenced, responded to this offer, which started the process. The whole process began with many long
conference calls between Dr. Alam and plant
molecular biologist
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...
s, Professors
Haseena Khan and
Zeba Islam Seraj
Zeba Islam Seraj is a Bangladeshi scientist known for her research in developing salt-tolerant rice varieties suitable for growth in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. She is currently a professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biol ...
of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
University of Dhaka. They established connection with University of Hawaii, USA and University of Science Malaysia for technical support and prepared a project proposal to collect fund from different institutions. At the beginning there were many assurance but the reality was different. In the primary stage Genome Research Center USA and University of Science Malaysia gave some technical help to collect research data about jute from all over the world. To analyze huge amount of data there arose a need for a super computer. There was still need of funding for field research. "Swapnajatra" team become frustrated by not getting proper support. It became difficult to keep engage the team members. In 2009, The Daily Prothom Alo published an article about the research that changed everything. Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury introduced Dr. Maqsudul Alam to prime minister Sheikh Hasina and assured about further support. Thus team "Swapnajatra" regained their confidence and continued their work.
Resources
Genomic DNA (gDNA) from
Tossa Jute (''Corchorus olitorius'' O-4) was used for high-throughput Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platforms, including 454 GS FLX, Illumina/Solexa, and SOLiD. More than 50X coverage (over 100 billions of A, C, G, and Ts) of Jute genome-sequencing data were used for the draft assembly. Several open-source and commercial genome assembly and annotation pipelines were used to assemble and analyze the raw data. To validate the draft genome,
transcriptome analysis was also carried out. For data analysis, different computational resources, ranging from a high-performance Cluster Server to Dell servers to
Silicon Graphics SGI Altix-350 and 450, were used.
See also
*
Genome project
*
Structural genomics
References
External links
Jute genome Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jute Genome
Genome projects
Jute