NCKU takes part in 1st orchid genome project

2014-11-27

Results from the world’s first orchid genome sequencing project contributed to by Tainan City-based National Cheng Kung University were published online Nov. 24 by prestigious science journal Nature Genetics.

NCKU distinguished professor Chen Hong-hwa and adjunct professor Tsai Wen-chieh led Taiwan’s team over five years in decoding the 29,431 genes of endemic Phalaenopsis equestris orchid, found mostly on outlying Xiaolanyu, or Little Orchid Island, off the coast of Taitung County.

“The project involves 38 researchers from 13 institutions worldwide, originating from Taiwan, Belgium, France and mainland China,” Tsai said. “The most challenging task fell to NCKU researchers, who isolated the genes determining the orchid’s color, scent and shape among 1.6 billion individual sequences.”

According to Tsai, there are more than 25,000 documented species in the orchid family and scientists have long devoted themselves to understanding the idiosyncratic plant’s evolution strategy in surviving an ever-changing environment. The results of the research are expected to play an instrumental role in unlocking such secrets.

“With the decoding of the plant’s whole genome, biologists and botanists can carry out disease and pest control by targeting at-risk genes,” he said, adding that the research will benefit Taiwan’s moth orchid industry.

Boasting an output of NT$8 billion (US$258.2 million) per year, Taiwan is one of the leaders in global orchid exports.

Additional benefits, Tsai said, come in the form of cultivation and development of new orchid species by leveraging molecular marker technology—a process projected to halve the 20-30 years it usually takes to culture new varieties.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=224486&CtNode=413)