The French contribution to the multinational Solanaceae Genomics Project as integrated part of the European effort

Abstract

The Solanaceae family comprises many species of prime agronomical importance among which tomato and potato are the most important food source crops. In despite of their tremendous morphological diversity, the Solanaceae are closely related at the genetic level and display remarkable similarity in gene content and order. The Solanaceae Genome Project emerged in recent years as an international initiative aiming at generating genomic resources on the Solanaceae species and at coordinating national research efforts across the world. European countries made a substantial contribution to the activity of the Solanaceae International Consortium either through their respective national programs or with the advent of the EU-SOL integrated project. The present paper gives an overview on the specific contribution of the French Solanaceae Programs and on how they fit as an integral part of the European and international initiatives.