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- Title
Evidence of the domestication history of flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.) from genetic diversity of the sad2 locus.
- Authors
Allaby, Robin G.; Peterson, Gregory W.; Merriwether, David; Yong-Bi Fu
- Abstract
A phylogenetic analysis was conducted on 34 alleles of 2.5 kb sized stearoyl-ACP desaturase II ( sad2), obtained from 30 accessions of cultivated and pale flax ( Linum spp.), to elucidate the history of flax domestication. The analysis supports a single domestication origin for extant cultivated flax. The phylogenetic evidence indicates that flax was first domesticated for oil, rather than fibre. The genetic diversity of the sad2 locus in cultivated flax is low when compared to that of the pale flax assayed. An absolute archaeological date could be applied to the synonymous substitution rate of sad2 in cultivated flax, yielding a high estimate of 1.60–1.71×10−7 substitutions/site/year. The occurrence of nonsynonymous substitutions at conserved positions of the third exon in alleles from cultivated flax suggests that the locus may have been subjected to an artificial selection pressure. The elevated synonymous substitution rate is also compatible with a population expansion of flax since domestication, followed by a population decline in historic times. These findings provide new insight into flax domestication and are significant for the continuous exploration of the flax germplasm for utilization.
- Subjects
FLAX; CULTIVATED plants; DOMESTICATION of animals; PLANT phylogeny; PLANT diversity; PLANT genetics
- Publication
Theoretical & Applied Genetics, 2005, Vol 112, Issue 1, p58
- ISSN
0040-5752
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00122-005-0103-3