Pervasive hybridizations in the history of wheat relatives

Sylvain Glémin (1) , Celine Scornavacca (2) , Jacques Dainat (3) , Concetta Burgarella (4) , Veronique Viader (4) , Morgane Ardisson (4) , Gautier Sarah (4) , Sylvain Santoni (4) , Jacques David (4) , Vincent Ranwez (4)

1 ECOBIO - Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution [Rennes]
2 UMR ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier
3 Uppsala University
4 UMR AGAP - Amélioration génétique et adaptation des plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales

Cultivated wheats are derived from an intricate history of three genomes, A, B, and D, present in both diploid and polyploid species. It was recently proposed that the D genome originated from an ancient hybridization between the A and B lineages. However, this result has been questioned, and a robust phylogeny of wheat relatives is still lacking. Using transcriptome data from all diploid species and a new methodological approach, our comprehensive phylogenomic analysis revealed that more than half of the species descend from an ancient hybridization event but with a more complex scenario involving a different parent than previously thought—Aegilops mutica, an overlooked wild species—instead of the B genome. We also detected other extensive gene flow events that could explain long-standing controversies in the classification of wheat relatives.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Biodiversity; Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Genetics; Plants genetics

Sylvain Glémin, Celine Scornavacca, Jacques Dainat, Concetta Burgarella, Veronique Viader, et al.. Pervasive hybridizations in the history of wheat relatives. Science Advances , 2019, 5 (5), pp.eaav9188. ⟨10.1126/sciadv.aav9188⟩. ⟨hal-02144799⟩