CANBERRA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have mapped the genetic blueprint of sugarcane for the first time in a major advancement for agricultural biotechnology.

In research published on Wednesday, an international research consortium including a team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) revealed they have completed the first comprehensive reference genome for the widely-cultivated sugarcane hybrid R570.

It marks a major advancement for agricultural biotechnology and the first time that sugarcane has been fully sequenced due to the complexity of the crop's genome, which is three times the size that of humans with more than 100 chromosomes.

Karen Aitken, a principal investigator on the project from the CSIRO, said in a media release Wednesday that the breakthrough will help address stagnating sugarcane crop yields by enhancing breeding programs around the world.

"This is a major step forward for sugarcane research and will improve our understanding of complex traits like yield and adaption to diverse environmental conditions as well as disease resistance," she said.

"This is the first high-quality sugarcane variety genome to be completed. It represents a significant scientific achievement from 10 years of collaborative effort from scientists across the world."

The research, which was led by the U.S. Joint Genome Institute in California, also included scientists from the government-funded Australian Research Council, Research Hub for Engineering Plants to Replace Fossil Carbon and NGO Sugar Research Australia.

According to the CSIRO, the value of the sugarcane farming industry reaches 2.2 billion Australian dollars (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) per year in Australia. Enditem

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