bims-plasge Biomed News
on Plastid genes
Issue of 2023‒02‒12
two papers selected by
Vera S. Bogdanova
Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences


  1. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 27. pii: 2470. [Epub ahead of print]24(3):
      Peas (Pisum sativum) are the fourth most cultivated pulses worldwide and a critical source of protein in animal feed and human food. Developing pea core collections improves our understanding of pea evolution and may ease the exploitation of their genetic diversity in breeding programs. We carefully selected a highly diverse pea core collection of 325 accessions and established their genetic diversity and population structure. DArTSeq genotyping provided 35,790 polymorphic DArTseq markers, of which 24,279 were SilicoDArT and 11,511 SNP markers. More than 90% of these markers mapped onto the pea reference genome, with an average of 2787 SilicoDArT and 1644 SNP markers per chromosome, and an average LD50 distance of 0.48 and 1.38 Mbp, respectively. The pea core collection clustered in three or six subpopulations depending on the pea subspecies. Many admixed accessions were also detected, confirming the frequent genetic exchange between populations. Our results support the classification of Pisum genus into two species, P. fulvum and P. sativum (including subsp. sativum, arvense, elatius, humile, jomardii and abyssinicum). In addition, the study showed that wild alleles were incorporated into the cultivated pea through the intermediate P. sativum subsp. jomardii and P. sativum subsp. arvense during pea domestication, which have important implications for breeding programs. The high genetic diversity found in the collection and the high marker coverage are also expected to improve trait discovery and the efficient implementation of advanced breeding approaches.
    Keywords:  DArTSeq; Pisum spp.; core collection; genetic diversity; germplasm; peas; population structure
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032470
  2. Heredity (Edinb). 2023 Feb 08.
      Introgression is a potential source of valuable genetic variation and interspecific introgression lines are important resources for plant breeders to access novel alleles. Experimental advanced-generation backcross populations contain individuals with genomic compositions similar to those resulting from natural interspecific hybridization and provide opportunities to study the nature and transmission pattern of donor chromatin in recipient genomes. Here, we analyze transmission of donor chromatin in reciprocal backcrosses between G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Across the genome, recurrent backcrossing in both backgrounds yielded donor chromatin at slightly higher frequencies than the Mendelian expectation in BC5F1 plants, while the average frequency of donor alleles in BC5F2 segregating families was less than expected. In the two subgenomes of polyploid cotton, the rate of donor chromatin introgression was similar. Although donor chromatin was tolerated over much of the recipient genomes, 21 regions recalcitrant to donor alleles were identified. Only limited correspondence is observed between the recalcitrant regions in the two backgrounds, suggesting the effect of species background on introgression of donor segments. Genetic breakdown was progressive, with floral abscission and seed inviability ongoing during backcrossing cycles. Regions of either high or low introgression tended to be in terminal chromosomal regions that are generally rich in both genes and crossover events, with long stretches around the centromere having limited crossover activity resulting in relatively constant low introgression frequencies. Constraints on fixation and selection of donor alleles highlights the challenges of utilizing introgression breeding in crop improvement.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-023-00594-w