Tomás Matus, Ramon y Cajal researcher Cajal of the University of València.

An international team of researchers led from Chile by the University of Concepción (UdeC) and in which the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio, a joint center of the University of València and the CSIC) participates, has sequenced the genome of Araucaria araucana, a native Chilean species at risk of extinction with food potential. The laboratory of I2SysBio scientist Tomás Matus is in charge of assembling and functionally annotating this genome, eight times larger than the human genome. axis of providing the genomic information storage system and making it available as a database for public access to the scientific community. We are currently improving the assembly of the sequences that have been obtained through the use of 3 different sequencing platforms (Oxford Nanopore, PacBio and Illumina), as well as the annotation of the genes, that is, we are updating the gene catalog,” explains Tomás Matus, Ramon y Cajal researcher at the University of València.

Araucaria araucana, commonly called araucaria, pewen or Chilean pine, is an evergreen gymnosperm tree, native to central and southern Chile and the west from Argentina, popularly used as a garden tree, which can reach 50 meters and live a thousand years. Due to the prevalence of similar species in ancient prehistory, it is called a living fossil.

This species is threatened by population declines caused by logging, forest fires, and grazing. Its seeds are edible, similar to large pine nuts, and are harvested by indigenous peoples of Argentina and Chile. The tree has potential to be a food crop in other areas of climates with cool oceanic summers, for example in the west of Scotland, where other nut crops do not grow well. genetic diversity of species and their adaptive potential; and, as a second essential point, it will serve to integrate genetic and evolutionary knowledge in conservation planning. Once the genome is known, programs can be developed to monitor individuals and have the catalog of genes present in this genome, which can also contribute to understanding developmental processes such as reproduction, resistance to climate change or pests. The company CMPC, a Chilean forestry and paper holding company, has also participated in the project.

Tomás Matus is a plant biologist and doctor in Agricultural Sciences (Pontificia Universidad de Chile), interested in the use of genomic tools and Systems biology for the study of the regulation of plant development and metabolism networks. He has been a postdoc at the Center for Research in Genomics (CRAG, 2008-2013, 2015-2019) and has gained experience in omics technologies to understand the development of flowers in model species. He joined I2SysBio through a contract from the Ramón y Cajal program (2019) at the Universitat de València. style="text-justify:inter-ideograph">

Database: https://tomsbiolab.com/araucariadb/

Caption attached:

• Exemplars of Araucaria araucana, a Chilean native species at risk of extinction with food potential.

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