Domestication of Pea ( Pisum sativum L.): The Case of the Abyssinian Pea

• Published in: Frontiers in plant science Vol. 9; p. 515
• Main Author: Weeden, Norman F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 18-04-2018
• Subjects: domestication; gene trees; genetic diversity; Pisum fulvum; Pisum sativum; Plant Science; Pisum fulvum; genetic diversity; gene trees; Pisum sativum; domestication
• ISSN: 1664-462X; 1664-462X
• DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00515

Phylogenetic relationships of the Abyssinian pea (
ssp.
) to other subspecies and species in the genus were investigated to test between different hypotheses regarding its origin and domestication. An extensive sample of the
ssp.
germplasm was investigated, including groups a-1, a-2, b, c, and d as identified by Kwon et al. (2012). A broad sample of
but relatively few
ssp.
accessions were analyzed. Partial sequences of 18 genes were compared and these results combined with comparisons of additional genes done by others and available in the literature. In total, 54 genes or gene fragment sequences were involved in the study. The observed affinities between alleles in
ssp.
,
ssp.
,
. ssp.
, and
clearly demonstrated a close relationship among the three
subspecies and rejected the hypothesis that the Abyssinian pea was formed by hybridization between one of the
subspecies and
. If hybridization were involved in the generation of the Abyssinian pea, it must have been between
ssp.
and
ssp.
, although the Abyssinian pea possesses a considerable number of highly unique alleles, implying that the actual
ssp.
germplasm involved in such a hybridization has yet to be tested or that the hybridization occurred much longer ago than the postulated 4000 years bp. Analysis of the
ssp.
alleles in genomic regions thought to contain genes critical for domestication indicated that the indehiscent pod trait was independently developed in the Abyssinian pea, whereas the loss of seed dormancy was either derived from
. ssp.
or at least partially developed before the
ssp.
lineage diverged from that leading to
ssp.
.