The eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the most important vegetable crop species in Japan as well as in other Asian, Middle and Near Eastarn, Mediterranean and African countries. Eggplant belongs to the Solanaceae family including tomato, potato and pepper, but unlike these allies, it is endemic to the Old World. To get this unique solanaceous member up on the stage of genomics and let it act as a crucial cast in molecular genetic and physiological studies, eggplant whole-genome sequencing has been done to construct a draft genome dataset.

Draft Genome Sequence of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.): the Representative Solanum Species Indigenous to the Old World.
Hirakawa H, Shirasawa K, Miyatake K, Nunome T, Negoro S, Ohyama A, Yamaguchi H, Sato S, Isobe S, Tabata S, Fukuoka H. (2014)
DNA Research, Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2014, Pages 649–660