STORR gene fusion in Papaver species

Genome sequencing technology and assembly offers the opportunity to compare the genome organisation of related species and provide insight into the role of events such as gene fusion and gene clustering in the evolution of specialized metabolites. Such an approach in combination with metabolomic, transcriptomic and gene function analysis has allowed us to determine the evolutionary sequence of events leading to the clustering of the genes encoding the STORR modules, the fusion of these genes to form a functional STORR and the clustering of the other four genes involved in morphinan production across a number of Papaver species.