Scientists from a genomics organisation in south China’s Shenzhen City on January 13, 2015 published the first genetic map of Tibetan highland barley. Highland barley, known in Tibetan as Ne, is being grown on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for nearly 4,000 years.
The draft genome was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Highland Barley consists of up to 70 percent of all cereal crops in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the home to the world’s leading barley production base and centre for barley diversity research.
Genetic map of Tibetan barley will help to cultivate better strains of the Himalayan region’s staple food and increase yield. Also, it could help explain adaptation to extreme environmental conditions and increase yields.
Read full, original article: Chinese scientists published first genetic map of Tibetan Highland Barley
