Since the archaic rise of man from apes we have truly come a long way. From truly primal lifestyles centered around immediate gratification of physiological urges we have now reached a time when we can decode the very information that binds life together.
The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium, has with the aid of Kanswheatas State researchers decoded the genetic sequence of wheat. This will give scientists the chance to study the grain and identify which genes can be linked with particular traits in the plant. This plant is truly essential as a food source in the world we live in today and identifying genomes which are specifically associated with traits like disease resistance and high yields will prove to be particularly productive.
The common wheat plant is perceived to have 124.000 genes, even the human genome is only 20 percent the size of wheat. In fact, according to Frederic Choulet decoding the wheat genome was thought to be impossible. The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium was formed in 2005 and has wheat farmers, scientists and breeders. The research was funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture which is managed by the US Department of Agriculture.
Because of the incredible complexity of the sequence the complete code will be available in three years. Considering that wheat is the most widely grown crop around the world the information should have tremendous practical utility for our race and is hopefully, potentially capable of addressing the food crisis around the world.
