'Sacred' lotus genome sequenced

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the "sacred lotus" which is believed to have a powerful genetic system and may hold secrets about ageing successfully.
The scientists sequenced more than 86 per cent of the nearly 27,000 genes of the plant, Nelumbo nucifera, which is revered in China and elsewhere as a symbol of spiritual purity and longevity.
"The lotus genome is an ancient one, and we now know its ABCs," said Jane Shen-Miller, senior scientist with University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA's Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life.
"Molecular biologists can now more easily study how its genes are turned on and off during times of stress and why this plant's seeds can live for 1,300 years. This is a step toward learning what anti-ageing secrets the sacred lotus plant may offer," said Shen-Miller.

Shen-Miller said the lotus' genetic repair mechanisms could be very useful if they could be transferred to humans or to crops - such as rice, corn and wheat - whose seeds have life spans of only a few years.
"If our genes could repair disease as well as the lotus' genes, we would have healthier ageing. We need to learn about its repair mechanisms, and about its biochemical, physiological and molecular properties, but the lotus genome is now open to everybody," Shen-Miller said.

Understanding how the lotus repair mechanism works - and its possible implications for human health - is essentially a three-step process, said Crysten Blaby-Haas, co-author of the research.

"Knowing the genome sequence was step one. Step two would be identifying which of these genes contributes to longevity and repairing genetic damage. Step three would be potential applications for human health, if we find and characterise those genes. The genome sequence will aid in future analysis," Blaby-Haas said.
"The next question is what are these genes doing, and the biggest question is how they contribute to the longevity of the lotus plant and its other interesting attributes," Blaby-Haas said.
The genome sequence reveals that, when compared with known gene sequences of dozens of other plants, the lotus bears the closest resemblance to the ancestor of all eudicots, a broad category of flowering plants that includes the apple, peanut, tomato, cotton, cactus and tobacco plants.

The study was published in the journal Genome Biology.