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Breaking bread

Cracking the wheat code

Two weeks ago, scientists announced that they had finally sequenced the wheat genome—something long considered impossible. It took 13 years and 200 researchers from around the world, including 18 Indian scientists. This is their story

02/09/18

Roshni Nair

wheat.jpg

17 August 2018. The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) publishes the conclusion of its bread wheat genome-sequencing project in Science, sending scientific and media circles into a tizzy. Why the hype? With 107,891 genes (five times that of humans) and a genome 40 times more complex than rice, bread wheat befuddled scientists for decades….

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