Population sequencing enhances understanding of tea plant evolution.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32895382.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18228-8 and PMC identifier 7477583.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Tea is an economically important plant characterized by a large genome, high heterozygosity, and high species diversity. In this study, we assemble a 3.26-Gb high-quality chromosome-scale genome for the 'Longjing 43' cultivar of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. Genomic resequencing of 139 tea accessions from around the world is used to investigate the evolution and phylogenetic relationships of tea accessions. We find that hybridization has increased the heterozygosity and wide-ranging gene flow among tea populations with the spread of tea cultivation. Population genetic and transcriptomic analyses reveal that during domestication, selection for disease resistance and flavor in C. sinensis var. sinensis populations has been stronger than that in C. sinensis var. assamica populations. This study provides resources for marker-assisted breeding of tea and sets the foundation for further research on tea genetics and evolution.
Medical subject headings
- Camellia sinensis
- Disease Resistance
- Evolution, Molecular
- Genome, Plant
- Plant Breeding