Origin and evolution of the octoploid strawberry genome

Publication Overview
TitleOrigin and evolution of the octoploid strawberry genome
AuthorsEdger PP, Poorten TJ, VanBuren R, Hardigan MA, Colle M, McKain MR, Smith RD, Teresi SJ, Nelson ADL, Wai CM, Alger EI, Bird KA, Yocca AE, Pumplin N, Ou S, Ben-Zvi G, Brodt A, Baruch K, Swale T, Shiue L, Acharya CB, Cole GS, Mower JP, Childs KL, Jiang N, Lyons E, Freeling M, Puzey JR, Knapp SJ
TypeJournal Article
Journal NameNature genetics
Year2019
CitationEdger PP, Poorten TJ, VanBuren R, Hardigan MA, Colle M, McKain MR, Smith RD, Teresi SJ, Nelson ADL, Wai CM, Alger EI, Bird KA, Yocca AE, Pumplin N, Ou S, Ben-Zvi G, Brodt A, Baruch K, Swale T, Shiue L, Acharya CB, Cole GS, Mower JP, Childs KL, Jiang N, Lyons E, Freeling M, Puzey JR, Knapp SJ. Origin and evolution of the octoploid strawberry genome. Nature genetics. 2019 Feb 25.

Abstract

Cultivated strawberry emerged from the hybridization of two wild octoploid species, both descendants from the merger of four diploid progenitor species into a single nucleus more than 1 million years ago. Here we report a near-complete chromosome-scale assembly for cultivated octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) and uncovered the origin and evolutionary processes that shaped this complex allopolyploid. We identified the extant relatives of each diploid progenitor species and provide support for the North American origin of octoploid strawberry. We examined the dynamics among the four subgenomes in octoploid strawberry and uncovered the presence of a single dominant subgenome with significantly greater gene content, gene expression abundance, and biased exchanges between homoeologous chromosomes, as compared with the other subgenomes. Pathway analysis showed that certain metabolomic and disease-resistance traits are largely controlled by the dominant subgenome. These findings and the reference genome should serve as a powerful platform for future evolutionary studies and enable molecular breeding in strawberry.