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The East Asian wild apples, Malus baccata (L.) Borkh and Malus hupehensis (Pamp.) Rehder., are additional contributors to the genomes of cultivated European and Chinese varieties.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chen, X; Cornille, A; An, N; Xing, L; Ma, J; Zhao, C; Wang, Y; Han, M; Zhang, D
Published in: Mol Ecol
September 2023

The domestication process in long-lived plant perennials differs dramatically from that of annuals, with a huge amount of genetic exchange between crop and wild populations. Though apple is a major fruit crop grown worldwide, the contribution of wild apple species to the genetic makeup of the cultivated apple genome remains a topic of intense study. We used population genomics approaches to investigate the contributions of several wild apple species to European and Chinese rootstock and dessert genomes, with a focus on the extent of wild-crop gene flow. Population genetic structure inferences revealed that the East Asian wild apples, Malus baccata (L.) Borkh and M. hupehensis (Pamp.), form a single panmictic group, and that the European dessert and rootstock apples form a specific gene pool whereas the Chinese dessert and rootstock apples were a mixture of three wild gene pools, suggesting different evolutionary histories of European and Chinese apple varieties. Coalescent-based inferences and gene flow estimates indicated that M. baccata - M. hupehensis contributed to the genome of both European and Chinese cultivated apples through wild-to-crop introgressions, and not as an initial contributor as previously supposed. We also confirmed the contribution through wild-to-crop introgressions of Malus sylvestris Mill. to the cultivated apple genome. Apple tree domestication is therefore one example in woody perennials that involved gene flow from several wild species from multiple geographical areas. This study provides an example of a complex protracted process of domestication in long-lived plant perennials, and is a starting point for apple breeding programmes.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Mol Ecol

DOI

EISSN

1365-294X

Publication Date

September 2023

Volume

32

Issue

18

Start / End Page

5125 / 5139

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Plant Breeding
  • Malus
  • Gene Pool
  • Fruit
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Biological Evolution
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

Citation

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Chen, X., Cornille, A., An, N., Xing, L., Ma, J., Zhao, C., … Zhang, D. (2023). The East Asian wild apples, Malus baccata (L.) Borkh and Malus hupehensis (Pamp.) Rehder., are additional contributors to the genomes of cultivated European and Chinese varieties. Mol Ecol, 32(18), 5125–5139. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16485
Chen, Xilong, Amandine Cornille, Na An, Libo Xing, Juanjuan Ma, Caiping Zhao, Yibin Wang, Mingyu Han, and Dong Zhang. “The East Asian wild apples, Malus baccata (L.) Borkh and Malus hupehensis (Pamp.) Rehder., are additional contributors to the genomes of cultivated European and Chinese varieties.Mol Ecol 32, no. 18 (September 2023): 5125–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16485.
Journal cover image

Published In

Mol Ecol

DOI

EISSN

1365-294X

Publication Date

September 2023

Volume

32

Issue

18

Start / End Page

5125 / 5139

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Plant Breeding
  • Malus
  • Gene Pool
  • Fruit
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Biological Evolution
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences