How do you sequence a tree genome?

Question

I'm writing a grant proposal, and part of the research will involve sequencing and comparing DNA from trees in America and Japan. How does one analyze the genome of a tree and compare it to a conspecific?

Answer 1

You probably would be looking for base pair and gene sequences for common enzymes and proteins. Enzymes in the Calvin Cycle spring to mind. Plant DNA can be compared just like human DNA. Comparing the genomes of plants identified as parts of the same closely related taxanomic groups based on the anatomy of the plant might be an interesting approach. Genes may not reveal the same degree of relationship that is implied by anatomy. You might look at identical cultivars that are grown commercially in the Americas and in Japan. Comparing those growing in the Fukashima exclusion zone, elsewhere in Japan and in the America's might be an interesting study.