Bioinformatics for saffron (Crocus sativus L.) improvement

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a sterile triploid plant and belongs to the Iridaceae (Liliales, Monocots). Its genome is of relatively large size and is poorly characterized. Bioinformatics can play an enormous technical role in the sequence-level structural characterization of saffron genomic DNA. Bioinformatics tools can also help in appreciating the extent of diversity of various geographic or genetic groups of cultivated saffron to infer relationships between groups and accessions. The characterization of the transcriptome of saffron stigmas is the most vital for throwing light on the molecular basis of flavor, color biogenesis, genomic organization and biology of gynoecium of saffron. The information derived can be utilized for constructing biological pathways involved in the biosynthesis of principal components of saffron i.e., crocin, crocetin, safranal, picrocrocin and safchiA