Workshop: Wheat Genome Sequencing to be held in Washington, DC , November 9-11, 2003

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Wheat is the most widely grown crop, comprising 17% of all cultivated land, a staple of 40% of the world's population providing 20% of the calories consumed. Wheat also provides approximately 55% of the worlds carbohydrates. To meet human demands in 2050, grain production needs to increase at an annual rate of 1.5+% on an area of land that will not increase much beyond present levels. This implies that significant advances in the understanding of the wheat plant and grain biology must occur in order to increase absolute yield as well as protect the crop from 25% loss due to biotic (pests) and abiotic stress (heat, drought, and salinity). Sequencing of the gene-rich regions of wheat genome is feasible due to the abundance of cytogenetic, molecular, and human resources. The purpose of the workshop is to establish a plan, utilizing the expertise from other genome sequencing projects, for a possible wheat genome-sequencing project. The workshop will pose broader questions such as: Do we need to sequence the wheat genome? What are the scientific needs for the sequence that cannot be met with existing cereal sequence resources? Is it time to sequence now? What genome should be sequenced (diploid or hexaploid)? What type of sequence should be generated (whole genome shotgun, selected BACs, etc)? What strategies could be used to yield the type of sequence needed? What timetable should be followed for the next steps? How will the broader community be engaged?A report will be published in hardcopy and posted on pertinent websites before the next Plant and Animal Genome meeting in January 2004.