Abstract
Genetic diversity in a breeding program is essential to overcome modern-day environmental challenges faced by humanity and produce robust, resilient crop cultivars with improved agronomic characteristics, as well as to trace crop domestication history. Flax (Linum usitatissimum), one of the first crops domesticated by mankind, has been traditionally cultivated for fiber as well as for medicinal purposes and as a nutritional product. The origins of fiber flax are hidden in the mists of time and can be hypothetically traced back to either the Indo-Afghan region or Fertile Crescent. To shed new light on fiber flax genetic diversity and breeding history, in this study, we presented a comprehensive analysis of the core collection of flax (306 accessions) of different morphotypes and geographic origins maintained by the Russian Federal Research Center for Bast Fiber Crops. We observed significant population differentiation between oilseed and fiber morphotypes, as well as mapped genomic regions affected by recent breeding efforts. We also sought to unravel the origins of kryazhs, Russian heritage landraces, and their genetic relatedness to modern fiber flax cultivars. For the first time, our results provide strong genetic evidence in favor of the hypothesis on kryazh’s mixed origin from both the Indo-Afghan diversity center and Fertile Crescent. Finally, we showed predominant contribution from Russian landraces and kryazhs into the ancestry of modern fiber flax varieties. Taken together, these findings may have practical implications on the development of new improved flax varieties with desirable traits that give farmers greater choice in crop management and meet the aspirations of breeders.
Highlights
Flax is one of the oldest domesticated crops grown worldwide and in various climates
Resequencing of 306 flax accessions resulted in 1,143.850625 Gb of raw data comprising 7.626 billion reads with an average of 9.3 × genome coverage or, alternatively, 3.7 Gbp yield per sample (Supplementary Table 3)
An extensive characterization of flax genetic diversity is of paramount importance for the long-term sustainability of flax production and diversification, as well as for the overall success of its breeding programs
Summary
Flax is one of the oldest domesticated crops grown worldwide and in various climates. A diverse range of breeding routes eventually gave rise to two very different phenotypes, namely (a) to a bushy, relatively small, short plant with high seed yield ideal for oil extraction (oilseed or linseed flax) and (b) to a fiber flax, long pliable unbranched stem crop with long cellulose-rich fibers best suited for linen production (Figure 1). Flax seeds are an excellent source of oil with high content of unsaturated fatty acids, lignins, digestible proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins, and mineral elements. Fiber flax varieties have been used as a base material to produce textiles. Recent advances in material science have led to renewed interest in fiber flax, as its fibers are used in a wide range of environmentally friendly industrial applications, e.g., composites, geotextiles, insulation, and specialty papers
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
