Unraveling the Complex Hybrid Ancestry and Domestication History of Cultivated Strawberry

Abstract Cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is one of our youngest domesticates, originating in early eighteenth-century Europe from spontaneous hybrids between wild allo-octoploid species chiloensis and Fragaria virginiana). The improvement horticultural traits by 300 years breeding has enabled the global expansion production. Here, we describe genomic history domestication earliest to modern cultivars. We observed a significant increase heterozygosity among interspecific decrease domesticated descendants those hybrids. Selective sweeps were found across genome phases domestication—59–76% selectively swept genes originated three less dominant ancestral subgenomes. Contrary tenet that genetic diversity limited cultivated strawberry, octoploid harbor massive allelic F. ananassa harbors as much either founder. identified 41.8 M subgenome-specific DNA variants resequenced individuals. Strikingly, 98% common alleles 73% total shared populations. Moreover, genome-wide estimates nucleotide virtually identical chiloensis,F. virginiana, (? = 0.0059–0.0060). found, however, significantly lower populations have experienced gains produced numerous agriculturally important