PLOS Genetics study develops low-coverage whole-genome sequencing screen for apomixis in apple relatives

A study published in PLOS Genetics reports the development of a low-coverage whole-genome sequencing screen designed to detect apomixis across a diverse collection of Malus germplasm. Apomixis — the ability of plants to reproduce clonally through seeds without fertilisation — is of considerable interest in plant breeding because it would allow high-value hybrid genotypes to be propagated indefinitely without the genetic reshuffling that normally accompanies sexual reproduction.

The research team, based at institutions including the University of Georgia and Czech institutions, builds on a decade of discoveries identifying the genetic basis of apomixis in model species and natural apomicts such as Boechera and Pennisetum. Progress in eudicots — the broader group that includes most broadleaf crops — has been slower, partly because apomixis in these lineages involves more complex, pleiotropic genetic architecture.

The authors describe a sequencing strategy that uses reduced-depth whole-genome data to screen many accessions cost-effectively, and validate it against a diverse set of Malus — the genus including cultivated apple and its wild relatives. The method is intended to facilitate identification of novel apomictic lineages in eudicots that could serve as new systems for studying and eventually engineering apomixis in crop plants.

The study is published in PLOS Genetics and is of primary relevance to plant geneticists and crop scientists working on reproductive biology and agricultural genomics.