Abstract
This study chronicles the ongoing process to domesticate an interspecific trigenomic tetraploid hybrid sunflower derived from a series of interspecific crosses between Helianthus annuus and Helianthus tuberosus. The goal of this process is to develop a perennial oilseed crop that can produce both high value vegetable oil and continuous ground-cover. Selection has focused on developing an ideotype with the domesticated morphology of H. annuus and the below-ground perennial features of H. tuberosus. The overarching challenge in the process of breeding and domesticating this interspecific perennial sunflower is overcoming obstacles associated with interploid meiosis in order to resolve a chromosomally stable hybrid population. As selection progresses through generations of intermating, there are improvements toward the desired ideotype, but selection efficiency is slowed by apparent antagonisms between annual- and perennial morphological targets and irregular meiosis which is especially problematic in a trigenomic tetraploid. This shows that keys toward perennial crop development through interspecific hybridization will be to capitalize on the abundant phenotypic variation within our population, achieve meiotic stability in order to maximize selection efficiency, and to break genetic correlations between annual and perennial traits.
Highlights
As the world population continues to grow, approaching ten billion people by 2050, improved crops will be required to meet the demands for food, fiber and fuel, and to be managed in a sustainable way to protect both our topsoil and our waterways [1,2]
This study aims to chronicle the domestication of an interspecific trigenomic tetraploid sunflower, Helianthus annuus × Helianthus tuberosus
We show some progress in ideotype traits, we show that perennial and annual traits are negatively correlated
Summary
As the world population continues to grow, approaching ten billion people by 2050, improved crops will be required to meet the demands for food, fiber and fuel, and to be managed in a sustainable way to protect both our topsoil and our waterways [1,2]. Breeding crops for the future requires maintaining yields, and advancing cropping systems that will help preserve our soil and water in the face of climate change [3]. Sustainable agricultural practices have been widely adopted [4,5], but adoption is balanced with economics [6]. Changing economics require a broader suite of potential crops for sustainable practices, and recent work has shown an increased interest in the development and production of perennial crops [7]. Perennial crops fit the desire for sustainable practices as they require less water and sequester a greater amount of atmospheric carbon [8,9,10], which may make them more tolerant to new abiotic
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