Project description:Crop domestication usually leads to the narrowing genetic diversity. However, human selection mainly focuses on visible traits, such as yield and plant morphology, with most metabolic changes being invisible to the naked eye. Buckwheat accumulates abundant bioactive substances, making it a dual-purpose crop with excellent nutritional and medical value. Therefore, examining the wiring of these invisible metabolites during domestication is of major importance. The comprehensive profiling of 200 Tartary buckwheat accessions exhibits 540 metabolites modified as a consequence of human selection. Metabolic genome-wide association study illustrates 384 mGWAS signals for 336 metabolites are under selection. Further analysis showed that an R2R3-MYB transcription factor FtMYB43 positively regulates the synthesis of procyanidin. Glycoside hydrolase gene FtSAGH1 is characterized as responsible for the release of active salicylic acid, the precursor of aspirin and indispensably in plant defence. UDP-glucosyltransferase gene FtUGT74L2 is characterized as involved in the glycosylation of emodin, a major medicinal component specific in Polygonaceae. The lower expression of FtSAGH1 and FtUGT74L2 were associated with the reduction of salicylic acid and soluble EmG owing to domestication. This first large-scale metabolome profiling in Tartary buckwheat will facilitate genetic improvement of medicinal properties and disease resistance in Tartary buckwheat.
Project description:Despite early domestication around 3000 BC, the evolutionary history of the ancient allotetraploid species Brassica juncea (L.) Czern & Coss remains uncertain. Here, we report a chromosome-scale de novo assembly of a yellow-seeded B. juncea genome by integrating long-read and short-read sequencing, optical mapping and Hi-C technologies. Nuclear and organelle phylogenies of 480 accessions worldwide supported that B. juncea is most likely a single origin in West Asia, 8,000-14,000 years ago, via natural interspecific hybridization. Subsequently, new crop types evolved through spontaneous gene mutations and introgressions along three independent routes of eastward expansion. Selective sweeps, genome-wide trait associations and tissue-specific RNA-sequencing analysis shed light on the domestication history of flowering time and seed weight, and on human selection for morphological diversification in this versatile species. Our data provide a comprehensive insight into the origin and domestication and a foundation for genomics-based breeding of B. juncea.
Project description:BackgroundTartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) is a nutritionally balanced and flavonoid-rich crop plant that has been in cultivation for 4000 years and is now grown globally. Despite its nutraceutical and agricultural value, the characterization of its genetics and its domestication history is limited.ResultsHere, we report a comprehensive database of Tartary buckwheat genomic variation based on whole-genome resequencing of 510 germplasms. Our analysis suggests that two independent domestication events occurred in southwestern and northern China, resulting in diverse characteristics of modern Tartary buckwheat varieties. Genome-wide association studies for important agricultural traits identify several candidate genes, including FtUFGT3 and FtAP2YT1 that significantly correlate with flavonoid accumulation and grain weight, respectively.ConclusionsWe describe the domestication history of Tartary buckwheat and provide a detailed resource of genomic variation to allow for genomic-assisted breeding in the improvement of elite cultivars.
Project description:Rice, wheat, corn, and potatoes are four crops that provide a daily source of nutrition for humans, but there are many problems that have been found with these crops. First, they lack amino acids and minerals which are necessary for balanced nutrition, and they also are grown very widely and as monocultures, which increases the risk of the human food system being destroyed by climate change. Thus, by introducing coarse cereals with good characteristics, we can enrich human food resources, realize agricultural diversification, improve dietary structure, and mitigate risks. Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) is a widely cultivated edible and medicinal crop with unique nutritional and excellent economic value. It contains flavonoids, such as rutin and quercetin, which are not found in cereal crops. Rutin is a major flavonoid that can enhance blood flow and aid in the use of vitamin C and the production of collagen. In addition, such antioxidants have been shown to effectively reduce cholesterol levels, blood clots, and hypertension, particularly for the prevention of inflammatory liver injury (Middleton et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2013; Suzuki et al., 2014; Huang et al., 2016; Nishimura et al., 2016). Meanwhile, Tartary buckwheat can tolerate poor climate and acidic soils containing high amounts of aluminum, which is toxic to other crops (Wang et al., 2015). The self-pollination of Tartary buckwheat has resulted in a decrease in genomic heterozygosity, which is valuable for breeding and a stable production trait (Wang and Campbell, 2007). Therefore, Tartary buckwheat is an important minor crop, which is expected to become the target of many breeding efforts in the future.
Project description:Understanding the genetic basis of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) domestication is crucial for further improving natural rubber production to meet its increasing demand worldwide. Here we provide a high-quality H. brasiliensis genome assembly (1.58 Gb, contig N50 of 11.21 megabases), present a map of genome variations by resequencing 335 accessions and reveal domestication-related molecular signals and a major domestication trait, the higher number of laticifer rings. We further show that HbPSK5, encoding the small-peptide hormone phytosulfokine (PSK), is a key domestication gene and closely correlated with the major domestication trait. The transcriptional activation of HbPSK5 by myelocytomatosis (MYC) members links PSK signaling to jasmonates in regulating the laticifer differentiation in rubber tree. Heterologous overexpression of HbPSK5 in Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) can increase rubber content by promoting laticifer formation. Our results provide an insight into target genes for improving rubber tree and accelerating the domestication of other rubber-producing plants.
Project description:Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a semi-domesticated fruit tree of moderate importance in the Neotropics, utilized for millennia due to its nutritional and medicinal benefits, but its origin of domestication remains unknown. In this study, we examine genetic diversity and population structure in 215 plants from 11 countries in Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Amazonia using 25 nuclear microsatellite loci to propose an origin of domestication. Genetic analyses reveal one gene pool in Mesoamerica (Mexico) and four in South America (Brazilian Amazonia, Peruvian Amazonia and Andes, and Colombia), indicating greater differentiation among localities, possibly due to isolation between guava populations, particularly in the Amazonian and Andean regions. Moreover, Mesoamerican populations show high genetic diversity, with moderate genetic structure due to gene flow from northern South American populations. Dispersal scenarios suggest that Brazilian Amazonia is the probable origin of guava domestication, spreading from there to the Peruvian Andes, northern South America, Central America, and Mexico. These findings present the first evidence of guava domestication in the Americas, contributing to a deeper understanding of its evolutionary history.
Project description:BackgroundTartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) is an edible cereal crop whose sprouts have been marketed and commercialized for their higher levels of anti-oxidants, including rutin and anthocyanin. UDP-glucose flavonoid glycosyltransferases (UFGTs) play an important role in the biosynthesis of flavonoids in plants. So far, few studies are available on UFGT genes that may play a role in tartary buckwheat flavonoids biosynthesis. Here, we report on the identification and functional characterization of seven UFGTs from tartary buckwheat that are potentially involved in flavonoid biosynthesis (and have varying effects on plant growth and development when overexpressed in Arabidopsis thaliana.) RESULTS: Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the potential function of the seven FtUFGT proteins, FtUFGT6, FtUFGT7, FtUFGT8, FtUFGT9, FtUFGT15, FtUFGT40, and FtUFGT41, could be divided into three Arabidopsis thaliana functional subgroups that are involved in flavonoid biosynthesis of and anthocyanin accumulation. A significant positive correlation between FtUFGT8 and FtUFGT15 expression and anthocyanin accumulation capacity was observed in the tartary buckwheat seedlings after cold stress. Overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana showed that FtUFGT8, FtUFGT15, and FtUFGT41 significantly increased the anthocyanin content in transgenic plants. Unexpectedly, overexpression of FtUFGT6, while not leading to enhanced anthocyanin accumulation, significantly enhanced the growth yield of transgenic plants. When wild-type plants have only cotyledons, most of the transgenic plants of FtUFGT6 had grown true leaves. Moreover, the growth speed of the oxFtUFGT6 transgenic plant root was also significantly faster than that of the wild type. At later growth, FtUFGT6 transgenic plants showed larger leaves, earlier twitching times and more tillers than wild type, whereas FtUFGT15 showed opposite results.ConclusionsSeven FtUFGTs were isolated from tartary buckwheat. FtUFGT8, FtUFGT15, and FtUFGT41 can significantly increase the accumulation of total anthocyanins in transgenic plants. Furthermore, overexpression of FtUFGT6 increased the overall yield of Arabidopsis transgenic plants at all growth stages. However, FtUFGT15 shows the opposite trend at later growth stage and delays the growth speed of plants. These results suggested that the biological function of FtUFGT genes in tartary buckwheat is diverse.
Project description:Tartary buckwheat is used as an ingredient in flour and tea, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine for its antioxidant effects. Here, we found that an ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat (TBE) potently induced autophagy flux in HeLa cells by suppressing mTORC1 activity, as revealed by dephosphorylation of the mTORC1 substrates Ulk1, S6K, and 4EBP, as well as by the nuclear translocation of transcriptional factor EB. In addition to non-selective bulk autophagy, TBE also induced aggrephagy, which is defined as autophagy against aggregated proteins. Quercetin is a flavonol found at high levels in TBE. We showed that quercetin induced both non-selective bulk autophagy and aggrephagy. These effects were also observed in Huh-7 cells derived from hepatocytes. Thus, aggrephagy induction by TBE and quercetin may relieve alcoholic hepatitis, which is closely linked to the accumulation of protein aggregations called Mallory-Denk bodies.