Seed dormancy is an adaptation that delays germination to prevent the start of this process during unsuitable conditions. It is crucial in wild species but its loss was selected during crop domestication to ensure a fast and uniform germination. Water uptake, or imbibition, is the first step of germination. In the Fabaceae family, seeds have physical dormancy, in which seed coats are impermeable to water. We used an interspecific cross between an elite lentil line (Lens culinaris) and a wild lentil (L. orientalis) to investigate the genetic basis of imbibition capacity through quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and by using RNA from embryos and seed coats at different development stages, and phenotypic data of seed coat thickness (SCT) and proportion of imbibed seeds (PIS). Both characteristics were consistent throughout different years and locations, suggesting a hereditary component. QTL results suggest that they are each controlled by relatively few loci. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within the QTL were considered candidate genes. Two glycosyl-hydrolase genes (a β-glucosidase and a β-galactosidase), which degrade complex polysaccharides in the cell wall, were found among the candidate genes, and one of them had a positive correlation (β-glucosidase) between gene expression and imbibition capacity, and the other gene (β-galactosidase) presented a negative correlation between gene expression and SCT.

• MeSH
• čočka * genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• domestikace * MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• klíčení genetika   MeSH
• lokus kvantitativního znaku MeSH
• mapování chromozomů MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u rostlin MeSH
• semena rostlinná * genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• stanovení celkové genové exprese MeSH
• transkriptom * MeSH
• vegetační klid * genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Pod dehiscence facilitates seed dispersal in wild legumes while indehiscence is a key domestication trait in cultivated ones. However, the evolutionary genetic mechanisms underlying its diversity are largely unclear. In this study, we compared transcriptomes of two warm-season (Glycine spp. and Phaseolus spp.) and two cool-season (Pisum spp. and Medicago ruthenica) legumes in analysis of dehiscent and indehiscent pod genotypes. Differentially expressed genes in AP2/ERF-like transcription factors and seven structural gene families, including lactoperoxidase, laccase, and cellulose synthase-interactive proteins, which are involved in secondary cell wall component accumulation, were identified to exert key roles in pod dehiscence variation. In accordance with this, higher lignin and cellulose contents were observed in pod secondary cell wall of dehiscent accessions of soybean and pea; however, the variation patterns of lignin polymers in soybean (accumulation) and pea (proportion) differed between dehiscent and indehiscent pods. Moreover, genome-wide comparative analysis revealed that orthogroups represented <1% of all identified differentially expressed genes could be traced among the four genera of legumes, while recruiting paralogous members may constitute the genetic robustness of legume pod dehiscence. This study compared the genetic mechanism among several legumes in pod dehiscence formation and revealed a compensating role of paralogous redundancy of involved gene families in seed dispersal, which can guide crop breeding.

• Klíčová slova
• domestication, gene expression, genetic basis, legumes, lignin, pod dehiscence,
• MeSH
• buněčná stěna metabolismus   genetika   MeSH
• Fabaceae * genetika   MeSH
• lignin metabolismus   MeSH
• multigenová rodina MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u rostlin MeSH
• rostlinné proteiny genetika   MeSH
• semena rostlinná genetika   MeSH
• transkriptom MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• lignin MeSH
• rostlinné proteiny MeSH

We showed that wild pea seeds contained a more diverse combination of bioactive GAs and had higher ABA content than domesticated peas. Although the role of abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GAs) interplay has been extensively studied in Arabidopsis and cereals models, comparatively little is known about the effect of domestication on the level of phytohormones in legume seeds. In legumes, as in other crops, seed dormancy has been largely or entirely removed during domestication. In this study, we have measured the endogenous levels of ABA and GAs comparatively between wild and domesticated pea seeds during their development. We have shown that wild seeds contained more ABA than domesticated ones, which could be important for preparing the seeds for the period of dormancy. ABA was catabolised particularly by an 8´-hydroxylation pathway, and dihydrophaseic acid was the main catabolite in seed coats as well as embryos. Besides, the seed coats of wild and pigmented cultivated genotypes were characterised by a broader spectrum of bioactive GAs compared to non-pigmented domesticated seeds. GAs in both seed coat and embryo were synthesized mainly by a 13-hydroxylation pathway, with GA29 being the most abundant in the seed coat and GA20 in the embryos. Measuring seed water content and water loss indicated domesticated pea seeds´ desiccation was slower than that of wild pea seeds. Altogether, we showed that pea domestication led to a change in bioactive GA composition and a lower ABA content during seed development.

• Klíčová slova
• Desiccation, Legume, Maturation, Phytohormones, Pigmentation, Seed-coat,
• MeSH
• Arabidopsis * genetika   MeSH
• domestikace MeSH
• gibereliny metabolismus   MeSH
• hrách setý genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• klíčení MeSH
• kyselina abscisová * metabolismus   MeSH
• semena rostlinná MeSH
• vegetační klid genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• gibereliny MeSH
• kyselina abscisová * MeSH

Increasing the proportion of locally produced plant protein in currently meat-rich diets could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and loss of biodiversity1. However, plant protein production is hampered by the lack of a cool-season legume equivalent to soybean in agronomic value2. Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) has a high yield potential and is well suited for cultivation in temperate regions, but genomic resources are scarce. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale assembly of the faba bean genome and show that it has expanded to a massive 13 Gb in size through an imbalance between the rates of amplification and elimination of retrotransposons and satellite repeats. Genes and recombination events are evenly dispersed across chromosomes and the gene space is remarkably compact considering the genome size, although with substantial copy number variation driven by tandem duplication. Demonstrating practical application of the genome sequence, we develop a targeted genotyping assay and use high-resolution genome-wide association analysis to dissect the genetic basis of seed size and hilum colour. The resources presented constitute a genomics-based breeding platform for faba bean, enabling breeders and geneticists to accelerate the improvement of sustainable protein production across the Mediterranean, subtropical and northern temperate agroecological zones.

• MeSH
• amplifikace genu genetika   MeSH
• celogenomová asociační studie MeSH
• chromozomy rostlin genetika   MeSH
• diploidie * MeSH
• genetická variace * genetika   MeSH
• genom rostlinný * genetika   MeSH
• genomika * MeSH
• rekombinace genetická MeSH
• retroelementy genetika   MeSH
• rostlinné geny genetika   MeSH
• rostlinné proteiny * genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• satelitní DNA genetika   MeSH
• semena rostlinná anatomie a histologie   genetika   MeSH
• šlechtění rostlin * metody   MeSH
• variabilita počtu kopií segmentů DNA genetika   MeSH
• Vicia faba * anatomie a histologie   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• zemědělské plodiny * genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• zeměpis MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• retroelementy MeSH
• rostlinné proteiny * MeSH
• satelitní DNA MeSH