Coconut: The Tree of Life-Endless Possibilities

Abstract

In 2017, coconut joined the elite list of sequenced plant genomes. The genome sequence is of immense value to coconut researchers working in various fields, ranging from plant breeding, biotechnology to physiology and biochemistry. The recent accomplishments of genome sequences of two green dwarfs, via independent sequencing efforts in the Philippines and India, will provide an improved coconut genome assembly and annotation. The dense map produced recently through a genoty**-by-sequencing (GBS) approach has aided the consolidation of the genome assembly of ‘Hainan Tall’ accession, the first to be sequenced. These genome sequencing efforts will immensely benefit plant breeders, who will now be able to utilize dense sets of molecular markers which are evenly distributed across the coconut genome and linked to traits of agronomic importance. More importantly, these will enable the development of genomic selection (GS) models and their implementation, the selection procedure based solely on the molecular profiling of genotypes, rather than the conventional phenotypic evaluation of traits, which is quite time-consuming and cumbersome in crop like coconut for obvious reasons. This concluding chapter provides a perspective view of both the processes and the outcomes of the genome sequencing endeavors in coconut as a foundation and roadmap for future discoveries which would serve coconut researchers for the years to come.