Genomic insights into growth and development of bamboos: what have we learnt and what more to discover?

In this review, genes and transcripts that play important roles in the vegetative and reproductive development of bamboos along with their stress responses have been discussed and a few yet unresolved research questions have been identified. Bamboos, a member of the family Poaceae, sub-family Bambusoideae hosts approximately 1670 species within 125 genera and are distributed in Asia, America and Africa. Bamboos are used as food, fodder, medicine and also for construction, furniture and handicrafts. Bamboos also have potential as bioenergy plants for their fast shoot growth, attaining a final height of 5–20 m within only 2–4 months. They are less prone to diseases, can grow under a variety of environmental conditions, and can withstand a wide range of abiotic stresses. For fundamental research, the plant group can serve as a model to address interesting evolutionary and developmental biological questions related to its unusually extended flowering time and its expansion of gene families as a result of polyploidization. However, genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic research progress to date does not reflect the utility and research opportunities of this species group, although the first bamboo genome sequences of Phyllostachys heterocycla (= Phyllostachys edulis/moso bamboo) are available. The objective of this article is to review the current state of bamboo genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic research, and to highlight important research directions that can be pursued using these technologies.