Yang Wenjie, Liu Meng, Feng Landi, Jiao Pengfei, Jiang Jiebei, Huang Li, Liu Jianquan, López-Pujol Jordi, Hu Quanjun
Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
State Key Laboratory of Grassland AgroEcosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Hortic Res. 2024 Dec 19;12(4):uhae355. doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae355. eCollection 2025 Apr.
(sweet alyssum) is a popular ornamental plant that displays a range of flower colors, particularly white and purple. However, the genetic underpinning and evolutionary history of flower colors have remained unknown. To address this, we performed a assembly of a chromosome-level genome for this species and conducted comparative population genomic analyses of both domestic and wild representatives. These analyses revealed distinct genetic clusters corresponding to wild and domestic groups, with further subdivisions based on geographic and phenotypic differences. Importantly, all cultivars originated from a single domestication event within the Tunisia group. One wild group did not contribute genetically to the current cultivars. The new mutations in key gene of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway, , that arose following domestication led to the origin of purple flower coloration in the cultivars. Moreover, the contrasting haplotypes in white and purple varieties lead to differential expression of and , which in turn contributes to the observed flower color differences. These findings provide key insights into the domestication history and genetic regulation of flower color in , laying the groundwork for future genetic breeding efforts focused on this plant, especially introducing genetic sources from other wild groups.
（香雪球）是一种广受欢迎的观赏植物，呈现出多种花色，尤其是白色和紫色。然而，花色的遗传基础和进化历史一直不明。为解决这一问题，我们对该物种进行了染色体水平基因组组装，并对其野生和家养代表进行了比较群体基因组分析。这些分析揭示了与野生和家养群体相对应的不同遗传簇，并根据地理和表型差异进一步细分。重要的是，所有栽培品种都起源于突尼斯群体内的一次单一驯化事件。一个野生群体在基因上对当前的栽培品种没有贡献。驯化后花青素生物合成途径关键基因中的新突变导致了栽培品种中紫色花色的出现。此外，白色和紫色品种中截然不同的单倍型导致了和的差异表达，这反过来又造成了观察到的花色差异。这些发现为香雪球的驯化历史和花色遗传调控提供了关键见解，为未来针对该植物的遗传育种工作奠定了基础，特别是引入来自其他野生群体的遗传资源。
