SIME Darby Plantation Bhd has published its research on the oil palm genome on international open-access journal Plants, in support of a deforestation-free industry.

Published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, the journal is also available on the National Centre for Biotechnology Information’s website, Sime Darby said in a statement on its website.

Sime Darby said the publication followed its announcement in June that it is committed to share its research, which will fast-track the work of other researchers to improve oil palm yield and draw the line on deforestation by producing more oil without the need to clear more land.

Chief research and development officer Dr K. Harikrishna said the researchers have improved the existing oil palm genome assembly to 79% of completeness from 43%.

“This is important because the oil palm genome is a reference map for locating and controlling various key oil palm traits such as oil yield.

“A more complete map will give a better picture of genetic controls and information on locating other traits more effectively. We hope this data can be utilised by researchers to improve other genomes that are closely related to the palm species, such as date palm and coconut,” he said.

The publication of the research on oil palm genome are available in – the Plants journal at https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/11/1476 and  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA636092. – Bernama, November 26, 2020.