Draft genome of the wheat A-genome progenitor Triticum urartu

The genome sequence and its analysis of the diploid wild wheat Triticum urartu (progenitor of the wheat A genome) represent a tool for studying the complex, polyploid wheat genomes and should be a valuable resource for the genetic improvement of wheat. The hexaploid genome of bread wheat Triticum aestivum, designated AABBDD, evolved as a result of hybridization between three ancestral grasses. Two papers published in the issue of Nature present genome sequences and analysis of two of these wheat progenitors. First, the genome sequence of the diploid wild wheat T. urartu (ancestor of the A genome), which resembles cultivated wheat more strongly than either Aegilops speltoides (the B ancestor) or Ae. tauschii…