Genetic relationships of 16 cultivars of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.) and its two wild relatives (C. albicans and C. lineatus) from different parts of the India were analysed using 22 random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) primers and 10 inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) primers. Twenty two RAPD primers yielded 151 polymorphic markers (71.2%) with an average of 6.8 polymorphic b...

Congenital deficiency of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) results in a syndrome of hypoadrenalism, severe obesity, and altered skin and hair pigmentation. The concept that subtle variation in POMC expression and/or function might contribute to common obesity is suggested by studies reporting linkage of obesity-related traits to a locus on chromosome 2p22 encompassing the POMC gene. We identified a no...

In Brassicaceae crop breeding programs, wild relatives have been evaluated as genetic resources to develop new cultivars with biotic and abiotic stress resistance. This has become necessary because of the diversification of ecotypes of diseases and pests, changing food preferences, advances in production technology, the use of new approaches such as in vitro breeding programs, and the need for ...

As breeding between relatives often results in inbreeding depression, inbreeding avoidance is widespread in the animal kingdom. However, inbreeding avoidance may entail fitness costs. For example, dispersal away from relatives may reduce survival. How these conflicting selection pressures are resolved is challenging to investigate, but theoretical models predict that inbreeding should occur fre...

Crop-to-wild gene flow have important evolutionary and ecological consequences and require careful consideration in conservation programs for wild genetic resources of potential use in breeding programs and in assessments of the risk of transgene escape into natural ecosystems. Using 26 microsatellites and a set of 1181 trees, we investigated the extent of introgression from the cultivated appl...

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) wild relatives remain a largely untapped potential for genetic improvement. However, the domestication syndrome phenomena from wild species to cultivated cassava remain poorly understood. The analysis of leaf anatomy and photosynthetic activity showed significantly different between cassava cultivars SC205, SC8 and wild relative M. esculenta ssp. Flabellifolia...

Crop wild relatives are an important source of genetic diversity for crop improvement. However, the survival of some of these wild plant species could be threatened because of climate change. We used current and projected future climate data for ~2055, and a climate-envelope species-distribution model to predict the impact of climate change on the wild relatives of peanut (Arachis), potato (Sol...

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is an annual or short-lived perennial food legume of acute regional importance, providing significant protein to the human diet in less developed regions of Asia and Africa. Due to its narrow genetic base, pigeonpea improvement is increasingly reliant on introgression of valuable traits from wild forms, a practice that would benefit from knowledge of its domestication ...

Tea is one of the most popular beverages across the world and is made exclusively from cultivars of Camellia sinensis. Many wild relatives of the genus Camellia that are closely related to C. sinensis are native to Southwest China. In this study, we first identified the distinct genetic divergence between C. sinensis and its wild relatives and provided a glimpse into the artificial selection of...

Domestication is the hallmark of evolution and civilization and harnesses biodiversity through selection for specific traits. In regions where domesticated lines are grown near wild relatives, congeneric sources of aggressive weedy genotypes cause major economic losses. Thus, the origins of weedy genotypes where no congeneric species occur raise questions regarding management effectiveness and ...