SSR and morphological trait based population structure analysis of 130 diverse flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) accessions

Molecular Advances to Combat Different Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.): A Comprehensive Review

Flax, or linseed, is considered a "superfood", which means that it is a food with diverse health benefits and potentially useful bioactive ingredients. It is a multi-purpose crop that is prized for its seed oil, fibre, nutraceutical, and probiotic qualities. It is suited to various habitats and agro-ecological conditions. Numerous abiotic and biotic stressors that can either have a direct or indirect impact on plant health are experienced by flax plants as a result of changing environmental circumstances. Research on the impact of various stresses and their possible ameliorators is prompted by such expectations. By inducing the loss of specific alleles and using a limited number of selected varieties, modern breeding techniques have decreased the overall genetic variability required for climate-smart agriculture. However, gene banks have well-managed collectionns of landraces, wild linseed accessions, and auxiliary Linum species that serve as an important source of novel alleles. In the past, flax-breeding techniques were prioritised, preserving high yield with other essential traits. Applications of molecular markers in modern breeding have made it easy to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for various agronomic characteristics. The genetic diversity of linseed species and the evaluation of their tolerance to abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, heavy metal tolerance, and temperature, as well as resistance to biotic stress factors, viz., rust, wilt, powdery mildew, and alternaria blight, despite addressing various morphotypes and the value of linseed as a supplement, are the primary topics of this review.

Genetic diversity analysis of a flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) global collection

Background

A sustainable breeding program requires a minimum level of germplasm diversity to provide varied options for the selection of new breeding lines. To maximize genetic gain of the North Dakota State University (NDSU) flax breeding program, we aimed to increase the genetic diversity of its parental stocks by incorporating diverse genotypes. For this purpose, we analyzed the genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium, and population sub-structure of 350 globally-distributed flax genotypes with 6200 SNP markers.

Results

All the genotypes tested clustered into seven sub-populations (P1 to P7) based on the admixture model and the output of neighbor-joining (NJ) tree analysis and principal coordinate analysis were in line with that of structure analysis. The largest sub-population separation arose from a cluster of NDSU/American genotypes with Turkish and Asian genotypes. All sub-populations showed moderate genetic diversity (average H = 0.22 and I = 0.34). The pairwise F_st comparison revealed a great degree of divergence (F_st > 0.25) between most of the combinations. A whole collection mantel test showed significant positive correlation (r = 0.30 and p < 0.01) between genetic and geographic distances, whereas it was non-significant for all sub-populations except P4 and P5 (r = 0.251, 0.349 respectively and p < 0.05). In the entire collection, the mean linkage disequilibrium was 0.03 and it decayed to its half maximum within < 21 kb distance.

Conclusions

To maximize genetic gain, hybridization between NDSU stock (P5) and Asian individuals (P6) are potentially the best option as genetic differentiation between them is highest (F_st > 0.50). In contrast, low genetic differentiation between P5 and P2 may enhance the accumulation of favorable alleles for oil and fiber upon crossing to develop dual purpose varieties. As each sub-population consists of many genotypes, a Neighbor-Joining tree and kinship matrix assist to identify distantly related genotypes. These results also inform genotyping decisions for future association mapping studies to ensure the identification of a sufficient number of molecular markers to tag all linkage blocks.

Genetic diversity of sweet corn inbreds using agro-morphological traits and microsatellite markers

Assessment of genetic diversity is a pre-requisite to broaden the genetic background of cultivated base of sweet corn, an endosperm mutant of field corn that alters starch biosynthesis pathway in endosperm. In the current investigation, genetic divergence among 39 inbred lines was assessed on the basis of 14 agro-morphological traits, two quality parameters and 63 microsatellite markers, selected on the basis of their association with QTLs affecting kernel quality. The cluster analysis based on unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages for agro-morphological and quality traits grouped the 39 inbreds into three clusters with 5, 14 and 20 genotypes, respectively. The unweighted neighbor-joining method for microsatellite markers also categorized the inbred lines into three major clusters grouping 10, 9 and 20 genotypes in cluster I, II and III, respectively. The two cluster distribution patterns showed approximately 36 percent similarity. The assay of 30 microsatellite repeats identified 82 alleles with allele size ranging from 80 to 400 bp. The major allele frequency and PIC value of the markers ranged from 0.42 to 0.79 and 0.27 to 0.63, respectively, which suggested the presence of high amount of polymorphism among the inbreds. The average heterozygosity was recorded to be 0.19 which signifies proper maintenance of inbred population. Principle co-ordinate analysis also depicted diverse nature of inbred lines and agreed well with the previously determined clustering pattern. This study has identified several inbreds, having good yield and high sugar content which will not only enhance the genetic background of sweet corn germplasm but will also lead to development of high-yielding hybrids with improved quality.

Differential gene expression in response to Fusarium oxysporum infection in resistant and susceptible genotypes of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)

BACKGROUND

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a crop plant used for fiber and oil production. Although potentially high-yielding flax varieties have been developed, environmental stresses markedly decrease flax production. Among biotic stresses, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lini is recognized as one of the most devastating flax pathogens. It causes wilt disease that is one of the major limiting factors for flax production worldwide. Breeding and cultivation of flax varieties resistant to F. oxysporum is the most effective method for controlling wilt disease. Although the mechanisms of flax response to Fusarium have been actively studied, data on the plant response to infection and resistance gene candidates are currently very limited.

RESULTS

The transcriptomes of two resistant and two susceptible flax cultivars with respect to Fusarium wilt, as well as two resistant BC₂F₅ populations, which were grown under control conditions or inoculated with F. oxysporum, were sequenced using the Illumina platform. Genes showing changes in expression under F. oxysporum infection were identified in both resistant and susceptible flax genotypes. We observed the predominant overexpression of numerous genes that are involved in defense response. This was more pronounced in resistant cultivars. In susceptible cultivars, significant downregulation of genes involved in cell wall organization or biogenesis was observed in response to F. oxysporum. In the resistant genotypes, upregulation of genes related to NAD(P)H oxidase activity was detected. Upregulation of a number of genes, including that encoding beta-1,3-glucanase, was significantly greater in the cultivars and BC₂F₅ populations resistant to Fusarium wilt than in susceptible cultivars in response to F. oxysporum infection.

CONCLUSIONS

Using high-throughput sequencing, we identified genes involved in the early defense response of L. usitatissimum against the fungus F. oxysporum. In response to F. oxysporum infection, we detected changes in the expression of pathogenesis-related protein-encoding genes and genes involved in ROS production or related to cell wall biogenesis. Furthermore, we identified genes that were upregulated specifically in flax genotypes resistant to Fusarium wilt. We suggest that the identified genes in resistant cultivars and BC₂F₅ populations showing induced expression in response to F. oxysporum infection are the most promising resistance gene candidates.