Forever Green researchers, lead by Anthony Brusa, have released a new paper on pennycress mutant gene index. Developing new traits for pennycress domestication requires populations with genetic variation, and one of the most widely used ways to create a large amount of variation quickly is through Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). Researchers investigated the effects of EMS on pennycress and found that the genetic variation was determined by at least 4 progenitor cells, resulting in different branches of a single plant having vastly different mutations. The sequence data for this project was combined with genome annotations to create an easy to use resource for reverse genetic screenings. The paper presents case studies and an example workflow that will allow researchers to identify and isolate individuals with mutations in genes of interest in less than 6 months.
You can read the paper online at https://z.umn.edu/bj7w.