Coconut, Date, and Oil Palm Genomics

The palm family, consisting of over 2,500 species arrayed among ca. 200 genera, is the third most economically important family of plants after the grasses and legumes. Three palm species account for the large majority of the family’s economic importance: coconut (Cocos nucifera), African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), and date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). Of the three, genomics has been least developed in the coconut, where molecular tools have largely been used to characterize germplasm, and, to a lesser extent, develop quantitative trait loci (QTL). Both date palm and oil palm have recently had their genomes sequenced. The application of genomic tools to these palm species will result in enormous advances in the genetic improvement of all three crops.