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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399194
Research Project: Management of Priority Legume, Oilseed, Vegetable, Forage Grass, Sugar, Ornamental, and Medicinal Plant Genetic Resources and Associated Information

Location: Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research

Title: Genetic structure and ecological niche space of lentil’s closest wild relative, Lens orientalis (Boiss.) Schmalh

Author
item GUERRA GARCIA, AZALEA - University Of Saskatchewan
item TRNENÝ, OLDRICH - Palacky University
item BRUS, JAN - Palacky University
item RENZI, JUAN PABLO - Instituto Nacional Tecnologia Agropecuaria
item KUMAR, SHIV - The International Center For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas(ICARDA)
item BARIOTAKIS, MICHAEL - University Of Greece - Crete
item Coyne, Clarice - Clare
item CHITIKINENI, ANU - Murdoch University
item BETT, KIRSTIN - University Of Saskatchewan
item VARSHNEY, RAJEEV - Murdoch University
item PIRINTSOS, STERGIOS - University Of Greece - Crete
item BERGER, JENS - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item VON WETTBERG, ERIC J.B. - University Of Vermont
item SMÝKAL, PETR - Palacky University

Submitted to: Plant Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/27/2023
Publication Date: 1/17/2024
Citation: Guerra-Garcia, A., Trnený, O., Brus, J., Renzi, J., Kumar, S., Bariotakis, M., Coyne, C.J., Chitikineni, A., Bett, K.E., Varshney, R., Pirintsos, S., Berger, J., Von Wettberg, E., Smýkal, P. 2024. Genetic structure and ecological niche space of lentil’s closest wild relative, Lens orientalis (Boiss.) Schmalh. Plant Biology. e13615. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13615.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13615

Interpretive Summary: Lentils are the third most widely grown dry legume and savored in a large number of cuisines for their hearty flavor and rapid cooking time. However, lentil production is challenged by a range of pathogens and by shifting climatic conditions. Wild relatives of lentil have been and remain essential for breeding lentils to tolerate a range of climates from semi-arid subtropical settings to the temperate Canadian high plains. In this study, we perform the largest analysis of genetic variation to date in wild lentils, with a focus on the immediate progenitor of cultivated lentil, Lens orientalis. Wild lentils have their center of diversity in the Eastern Mediterranean, where they were domesticated about 10,000 years ago alongside chickpeas, and peas, two other grain legumes, or pulses. We found four genetic groups across Lens orientalis, with some differentiation across major elevational and climatic gradients. However, we also find considerable mixing of genetic groups, consistent with the complex habitat heterogeneity of the Eastern Mediterranean, and the weedy habitat, small seed size, and high potential for dispersal of wild lentils. Importantly, our work documents the need to expand collections of wild lentils, which are a small fraction of the size of collections of cultivated lentils.

Technical Abstract: ' Crop wild relatives represent an important source of further crop improvement, in particular in relation to climate change. Although there are about 58,000 Lens accessions held in various genebanks, only 1% are wild accessions. This gap is further aggravated due to species misclassification. ' We examined the geographic distribution and genetic diversity of lentil progenitor L. orientalis. We used Genotyping by Sequencing (GBS) to identify and characterized differentiation among currently accessions L. orientalis held at germplasm collections with available geographical data, to assess population structure. ' Altogether 124 accessions of genuine L. orientalis, along with 42 accessions of cultivated lentil (L. culinaris), 15 acc. L. ervoides, 6 acc. L. lamottei, 13 acc. L. nigricans, 14 acc. L. odemensis, and 20 acc. of L. tomentosus were analyzed. Lens orientalis was clustered into four genetic groups. There was no clear correlation between genetic and geographical structure, while the environmental distance matrix was significantly correlated with geographic distance. Maxent modelling gave a distinct potential distribution pattern situated in the Fertile Crescent, with intermediate probabilities of occurrence in parts of Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Morocco, and the South of the Iberian Peninsula with NW Africa. Future projections did not show any dramatic alterations in the distribution according to the selected climate change scenarios. ' The results of the study show the importance of ongoing collections and in situ conservation for our future capacity to harness the genetic variation of wild lentil.