The Evolution of Plant Gene and Genome Sequencing

The technology underlying genome sequencing has been rapidly improving since the beginning of the human genome project two decades ago. These sequencing improvements have been applied to plant genomes and are revolutionizing plant biology research as well as molecular breeding applications. The early period of plant gene sequencing will be briefly reviewed and followed by the first plant genomes to be completed, Arabidopsis and rice. A summary of recently sequenced plant genomes is presented along with the trends in technology as well as collaborations leading to these completed genomes or transcriptomes. The plummeting costs of genome sequencing promise to create new discovery research opportunities and novel approaches to improve crop productivity while maintaining biodiversity in a changing world.