36 research outputs found
Genome-wide footprints in the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) unveil a new domestication pattern of a fruit tree in the Mediterranean
Intense research efforts over the last two decades have renewed our understanding of plant phylogeography and domestication in the Mediterranean basin. Here we aim to investigate the evolutionary history and the origin of domestication of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), which has been cultivated for millennia for food and fodder. We used >1000 microsatellite genotypes to delimit seven carob evolutionary units (CEUs). We investigated genome-wide diversity and evolutionary patterns of the CEUs with 3557 single nucleotide polymorphisms generated by restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). To address the complex wild vs. cultivated status of sampled trees, we classified 56 sampled populations across the Mediterranean basin as wild, seminatural or cultivated. Nuclear and cytoplasmic loci were identified from RADseq data and separated for analyses. Phylogenetic analyses of these genomic-wide data allowed us to resolve west-to-east expansions from a single long-term refugium probably located in the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains near the Atlantic coast. Our findings support multiple origins of domestication with a low impact on the genetic diversity at range-wide level. The carob was mostly domesticated from locally selected wild genotypes and scattered long-distance westward dispersals of domesticated varieties by humans, concomitant with major historical migrations by Romans, Greeks and Arabs. Ex situ efforts to preserve carob genetic resources should prioritize accessions from both western and eastern populations, with emphasis on the most differentiated CEUs situated in southwest Morocco, south Spain and eastern Mediterranean. Our study highlights the relevance of wild and seminatural habitats in the conservation of genetic resources for cultivated trees
Relationships among Cedrus libani, C. brevifolia and C. atlantica as revealed by the morphological and anatomical needle characters
Forest Genetics Research in the Mediterranean Basin: Bibliometric Analysis, Knowledge Gaps, and Perspectives (vol 8, pg 277, 2022)
Genome size in aquatic and wetland plants: fitting with the large genome constraint hypothesis with a few relevant exceptions
Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity.
The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified. Here, we show that non-English-language studies provide crucial evidence for informing global biodiversity conservation. By screening 419,679 peer-reviewed papers in 16 languages, we identified 1,234 non-English-language studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation interventions, compared to 4,412 English-language studies identified with the same criteria. Relevant non-English-language studies are being published at an increasing rate in 6 out of the 12 languages where there were a sufficient number of relevant studies. Incorporating non-English-language studies can expand the geographical coverage (i.e., the number of 2° × 2° grid cells with relevant studies) of English-language evidence by 12% to 25%, especially in biodiverse regions, and taxonomic coverage (i.e., the number of species covered by the relevant studies) by 5% to 32%, although they do tend to be based on less robust study designs. Our results show that synthesising non-English-language studies is key to overcoming the widespread lack of local, context-dependent evidence and facilitating evidence-based conservation globally. We urge wider disciplines to rigorously reassess the untapped potential of non-English-language science in informing decisions to address other global challenges. Please see the Supporting information files for Alternative Language Abstracts
L'identification des différentes espèces du genre Cedrus à l'aide de marqueurs moléculaires AFLP
National audienc
Genomic exploration and molecular marker development in a large and complex conifer genome using RADseq and mRNAseq
We combined restriction site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) using a hypomethylation-sensitive enzyme and messenger RNA sequencing (mRNAseq) to develop molecular markers for the 16 gigabase genome of[i] Cedrus atlantica[/i], a conifer tree species. With each method, Illumina(®) reads from one individual were used to generate de novo assemblies. SNPs from the RADseq data set were detected in a panel of one single individual and three pools of three individuals each. We developed a flexible script to estimate the ascertainment bias in SNP detection considering the pooling and sampling effects on the probability of not detecting an existing polymorphism. Gene Ontology (GO) and transposable element (TE) search analyses were applied to both data sets. The RADseq and the mRNAseq assemblies represented 0.1% and 0.6% of the genome, respectively. Genome complexity reduction resulted in 17% of the RADseq contigs potentially coding for proteins. This rate was doubled in the mRNAseq data set, suggesting that RADseq also explores noncoding low-repeat regions. The two methods gave very similar GO-slim profiles. As expected, the two assemblies were poor in TE-like sequences (<4% of contigs length). We identified 17,348 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the RADseq data set and 5,714 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the transcriptome. A subset of 282 SNPs was validated using the Fluidigm genotyping technology, giving a conversion rate of 50.4%, falling within the expected range for conifers. Increasing sample size had the greatest effect for ascertainment bias reduction. These results validated the utility of the RADseq approach for highly complex genomes such as conifer
Karyotype analysis reveals interspecific differentiation in the genus Cedrus despite genome size and base composition constancy
Forest genetics research in the mediterranean basin
Purpose of Review Recognizing that in the context of global change, tree genetic diversity represents a crucial resource for future forest adaptation, we review and highlight the major forest genetics research achievements of the past decades in biodiversity-rich countries of the Mediterranean region. For this, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature spanning the past thirty years (1991–2020). Putting together the representative regionwide expertise of our co-authorship, we propose research perspectives for the next decade. Recent Findings Forest genetics research in Mediterranean countries is organized into three different scientific domains of unequal importance. The domain “Population diversity and Differentiation” related to over 62% of all publications of the period, the domain “Environmental conditions, growth and stress response” to almost 23%, and the domain “Phylogeography” to almost 15%. Citation rate was trending the opposite way, indicating a strong and sustained interest in phylogeography and a rising interest for genetics research related to climate change and drought resistance. The share of publications from Asia and Africa to the total within the Mediterranean increased significantly during the 30-year period analyzed, reaching just below 30% during the last decade. Summary Describing poorly known species and populations, including marginal populations, using the full potential of genomic methods, testing adaptation in common gardens, and modeling adaptive capacity to build reliable scenarios for forest management remain strategic research priorities. Delineating areas of high and low genetic diversity, for conservation and restoration, respectively, is needed. Joining forces between forest management and forest research, sharing data, experience, and knowledge within and among countries will have to progress significantly, e.g., to assess the potential of Mediterranean genetic resources as assisted migration material worldwide