Qian Lunwen, Yang Liu, Liu Xianjun, Wang Tianyi, Kang Lei, Chen Hao, Lu Yin, Zhang Yukun, Yang Shujie, You Liang, Yao Min, Xiang Xingru, Cui Kan, Guo Ying, Yang Bin, Yan Mingli, Xia Shitou, Meng Jinling, Lin Tao, Mason Annaliese S, Snowdon Rod J, Liu Zhongsong
College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
Molecular Rapeseed Breeding Team, Yuelushan Laboratory, Changsha 410128, China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Feb 4;122(5):e2417264122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2417264122. Epub 2025 Jan 30.
Seed color is a critical quality trait in numerous plant species. In oilseed crops, including rapeseed and mustard, yellow seeds are distinguished by their significantly higher oil content and faster germination rates compared to black or brown counterparts. Despite the agronomic significance of the yellow seeds being a prime breeding target, the mechanisms underlying elevated oil content remain obscure. In this study, we assembled the first telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome of and further investigated the genetic regulation, molecular mechanism, and the evolutionary history of yellow seeds in Through an analysis of allelic variation in the () genes across 1,002 worldwide . accessions, we traced the single origin of yellow seeds to approximately 2,300 y ago in Southwestern China. Furthermore, we discovered the MADS-box gene () coevolved with , and they coordinately regulated seed size, oil accumulation, and seed coat proportion in . These findings open broad avenues for targeted breeding of yellow-seeded crops with elevated oil content.
种子颜色是许多植物物种的一个关键品质性状。在包括油菜籽和芥菜在内的油料作物中，黄色种子与黑色或棕色种子相比，其含油量显著更高，发芽率更快。尽管黄色种子作为主要育种目标具有农艺学意义，但其含油量升高的潜在机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们组装了首个油菜的端粒到端粒（T2T）基因组，并通过对1002份全球油菜种质资源中BnTT8基因的等位变异分析，进一步研究了油菜黄色种子的遗传调控、分子机制和进化历史。我们将黄色种子的单一起源追溯到大约2300年前的中国西南部。此外，我们发现MADS-box基因BnTT16与BnTT8共同进化，它们协同调控油菜的种子大小、油脂积累和种皮比例。这些发现为定向培育高含油量的黄色种子油菜作物开辟了广阔途径。
