I presented a talk to the Plant Chromosome Biology Conference in Vienna in September 2025. The abstract was Cytogenomics of oat (Avena) genome evolution: Intra- and inter-genomic chromosomal translocations, repetitive DNA dynamics, and reconstruction of ancestral grass karyotypes show genome evolution in actionPat Heslop-Harrison1,2, Trude Schwarzacher1,2, Paulina Tomaszewska1,3, Qing Liu21University of Leicester, Institute for Environmental…
Tag: genomics
Biodiversity and Agriculture: Education and Nature at Dinghu National Reserve
My job has three parts: 1) Research in biodiversity and agricultural genetics; 2) Critical evaluation of other research through journals and reviews; and, perhaps most imprtantly, 3) Telling people about the value, interest and importance of the natural and agricultural environment. I was delighted to visit Dinghu, the first Chinese National Nature Reserve, founded in…
Messages for COP29 : UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC-COP29
The annual conference for the UN treaty took place in the middle two weeks of November. The first week largely involves formal work and statement by Government ministers and Presidents, while the second week gave many opportunities for contribution to panels and documents. COP29 of UNFCCC is arguably the highest profile event with impact on…
Food from Grass: Genetics and Digital Twins to optimize ruminant agricultural sustainability
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, generated by ruminants (cows, sheep, goats) in their rumen. The genetics of the animal, the feed and the microbiome all affect the production of methane, and digital twins are being developed to optimize productivity and reduce methane emissions from animals.
Avena longiglumis: a 3,961 Mb diploid oat genome sequence assembly
The study presents the chromosome-level genome assembly of Avena longiglumis, a diploid oat species. The assembly is high-quality, with 99% completeness and 40,845 annotated protein-coding genes. It provides insights into genome evolution, expansion, and structural variations, offering valuable information for oat breeding and functional genomics. Additionally, mitochondrial genome and comparative studies have been conducted.
Towards a banana pangenome: a new chromosome assembly in Musaceae
Our fascinating research on the diversity of genomes within the banana family in The genome assembly of Musa beccarii & evolution of banana family genomes: extensive chromosomal rearrangements & genome expansion by Zheng-Feng Wang, Mathieu Rouard @m_rouard, Gaetan Droc @GaetanDroc, Pat (J S) Heslop-Harrison @Pathh1, Xue-Jun Ge. GigaScience, Volume 12, 2023, giad005, https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giad005 @Gigascience 🍌🧬#GenomeAssembly…
Adaptive benefits of deleterious mutations in crops
A review and viewpoint research paper by Sangam L. Dwivedi, Pat Heslop-Harrison, Charles Spillane, Peter C. McKeown, David Edwards, Irwin Goldman and Rodomiro OrtizTrends in Plant Science, on-line first https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2023.01.006 and 2023 Deleterious mutations are genetic changes that negatively impact the function and fitness of an organism. Our new review paper highlights how some deleterious…
Chromosomal landscapes of Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) integrated in the sheep nuclear genome
Sarbast Ihsan Mustafa, Trude Schwarzacher and John S. Heslop-Harrison The Nature and Chromosomal Landscape of Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) Integrated in the Sheep Nuclear Genome. DNA 2022, 2(1), 86-103; Free full text: https://doi.org/10.3390/dna2010007 Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) represent genomic components of retroviral origin that are found integrated in the genomes of various species of vertebrates. These genomic…
Bovine satellite DNAs and a history of the evolution of complexity and its impact in the Bovidae family
348. Escudeiro A, Ferreira D, Mendes-da-Silva A, Heslop-Harrison JS, Adega F, Chaves R. 2019. Bovine satellite DNAs–a history of the evolution of complexity and its impact in the Bovidae family. European Zoological Journal. 2019 Jan 1 86(1):20-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2018.1558294 (Open access) Despite the many questions regarding satellite DNA sequences and their cellular roles, the evolutionary history of…
Enset in Ethiopia as a poorly characterized but resilient starch staple: review article
349. Borrell JS, Biswas MK, Goodwin M, Blomme G, Schwarzacher T, Heslop-Harrison JS, Wendawek AM, Berhanu A, Kallow S, Janssens S, Molla EL, Davis AP, Woldeyes F, Willis K, Demissew S, Wilkin P. 2019. Enset in Ethiopia: a poorly characterized but resilient starch staple. Annals of Botany 123: mcy214 online first https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcy214 (freely available download) Author version: borrell_enset_review_author_version_plusfiguresauthorversionDownload • Background Enset…
Perspectives on research with varietal diversity and sustainable utilization in enset (Ensete banana)
347. Wilkin P, Davis A, Demissew S, Etherington T, Goodwin M, Heslop-Harrison P, Schwarzacher T, Willis K. 2018. A perspective to enhance innovative research with emphasis on varietal diversity and sustainable utilization of enset (Ensete ventricosum). Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences 17(Suppl.): 201–209. Wilkin et al. Perspectives for research and enset. Ethiopian J Biol Sci…
IAEA-FAO Manual on mutation breeding and introduction to plant breeding and selection
346. Nielen S., Forster BP, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2018. Mutagen effects in the first generation after seed treatment: biological effects of mutation treatments. Chapter 4 In: FAO/IAEA. Manual on Mutation Breeding – Third edition. Spencer-Lopes MM, Forster BP, Jankuloski L (eds), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. 301 pp. Free download of whole book:…
A global strategy for the conservation and use of coconut genetic resources 2018-2028
345. Baudouin L, Heslop-Harrison P, Pereira MG. 2018. 3.9.2 Preparing the era of marker-assisted breeding – Chapter 3. Where we need to be to secure diversity and promote use. In Bourdeix R & Prades A (Eds.), A Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Coconut Genetic Resources 2018-2028. pp 169-171. Montpellier, France. Bioversity International….
Complete mitogenomes from Kurdistani sheep – abundant centromeric nuclear copies representing diverse ancestors
341. Mustafa SI, Schwarzacher T, and Heslop-Harrison JS. 2018. Complete mitogenomes from Kurdistani sheep: abundant centromeric nuclear copies representing diverse ancestors. Mitochondrial DNA Part A https://doi.org/10.1080/24701394.2018.1431226 (publisher – see free publisher link below if you can’t access) AND Mustafa et al_2018 AuthorVersion The geographical center of domestication and species diversity for sheep (Ovis aries) lies around the…
Morphology, adaptation and speciation
Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Morphology, adaptation and speciation. Annals of Botany 120(7): 621-624. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx130The study of plant evolution and development in a phylogenetic context has accelerated research advances in both areas over the last decade. The addition of a robust phylogeny for plant taxa based on DNA as well as morphology has given a strong context for this research. Genetics…
Molecular cytogenetics, genome evolution and agricultural genomics 