Big Achievement! Indian Scientists Team Complete Genome Sequencing of Pomegranate, The Wonder Fruit

A team of scientists has finished the genome sequencing for the pomegranate, known to many as a wonder fruit, in a ground-breaking development for genomic research and horticultural science in India.

This means that the ICAR-NRCP team in Solapur, Maharashtra, has unlocked several genetic mysteries for the first time anywhere in India, including identifying specific genes responsible for sweetness, seed softness or color, disease, and pest resistance, and the enlargement of fruit size, among others, by identifying all the bases of DNA material in perfect sequence. Indian pomegranate cv. Bhagawa was the fruit used.

The ICAR-NRCP announced the release of Reference Quality Genome Assembly of Indian pomegranate cv. Bhagawa at a public event on 25^th September, the 18^th foundation day of ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate or NRCP.

The team involved in this landmark research comprised Dr. N.V. Singh, Dr. P. Roopa Sowjanya, Dr. Shilpa Parashuram, Dr. P.G. Patil, and Dr. R.A. Marathe, all at ICAR-NRCP, Solapur. It has taken the team six years to accomplish full genomic sequencing of this Indian pomegranate.

The genome sequencing experiment was executed at Nucleome Informatics a Hyderabad-based genomics lab.

Dr. R. A. Marathe, Director, ICAR-NRCP, said “Even as India has ramped up production in recent years and has been a world leader in pomegranate production with a 50% contribution to global production, India’s domestic capacity, as well as export potential, has still remained largely unrealized. This has been due to an assortment of reasons including the limited availability of genomic resources and molecular information about this highly remunerative crop. Being a high-value crop, until now, due to the lack of resistant pomegranate varieties against major pests and diseases, there has been a very high dependence on chemical pesticides for managing biotic stresses. However, now that we have managed to sequence the whole genome of this fruit, this will open up incredible avenues for vastly improving yield, growing much better and safer varieties for human nutritional needs, and all this at a much faster rate.”

“Given the government’s recent emphasis on steering agriculture more towards cash crops, the achieving of this full sequencing of pomegranate is very timely. For our farmer brothers, the extraordinary jump in yield and better-quality disease-resistant fruits with a higher shelf life would go a long way in enhancing their income and thereby improving lives. Remember pomegranate supports the livelihood security of an estimated 2.5 lakh farm families mostly in climatically and edaphically-challenged regions,” said Dr. A.K. Singh, DDG (Horticultural Science), ICAR, New Delhi.

He further added, “On the export side, it has been estimated that India exports an abysmal 2-3% of its indigenous production which is far below its real potential. Now with the achievement of this sequencing and the development of even higher quality fruits, India’s export value for pomegranate in the international market will multiply several-fold in a concise period of time. And from the domestic consumers’ standpoint, they would get to sample and consume even more varieties of high-quality pomegranates further fulfilling their health and nutritional needs.”

Dushyant Singh Baghel, CEO of Nucleome Informatics added “This is an example of public-private partnership in genomics research. With the availability of skilled genomics experts and advanced technologies, scientists can develop genomes and discover useful genes in crops faster.”