Scientists have revealed research on the evolutionary history and phenotypic diversification of peanuts, presenting implications for peanut breeding practices.

The international research team consisted of researchers from institutions such as the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Bari Aldo Moro, and Wageningen University & Research. The team published its results in the international academic journal, Nature Genetics on Tuesday.

Zheng Zheng, vice head of the Institute of Crop Molecular Breeding at the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that the cultivated peanut is an oilseed crop that is commonly grown across the world, but the events that led to its origin and diversification are not fully understood. This has limited the exploitation and improvement of peanut germplasm resources.

By combining chloroplast and whole-genome sequence data from a large germplasm collection, the study found that two subspecies of cultivated peanuts likely arose from distinct allopolyploidization and domestication events. Peanut genetic clusters were then differentiated with dissemination routes and breeding efforts, Zheng said.

By finding key genes that regulate the differentiation of subspecies, scientists acquired nucleotides that are significantly related to phenotypic traits such as flowering pattern, growth habit, pod and seed weight and oil content.

The data reported in this study provides an important genomic resource for the further and faster improvement of peanut genetics and can contribute to plant breeding practices, Zheng said. 

(Cover image via CFP)