Repetitive part of the banana (Musa acuminata) genome investigated by low-depth 454 sequencing

This work represents a major advance in the analysis of the nuclear genome organization in banana, an important staple and cash crop. The application of low-depth 454 sequencing provided until now the largest amount of DNA sequence data, and enabled a detailed analysis of repetitive components of its nuclear genome. All major types of DNA repeats were characterized and Musa DNA repeats databases were established. The analysis of genomic distribution of selected repeats provided new data on long-range molecular organization of banana chromosomes, and a large number of loci potentially useful as DNA markers were identified.