Plant Genetics: Joining forces-asexual genome merger creates new allopolyploid species

摘要

Allopolyploids contain sets of chromosomes that are derived from more than one species and are found among both wild and domesticated plants. This merging of nuclear genomes is a well-known source of evolutionary innovation, although it had been thought that allopolyploidization occurred only through hybridization events (that is, sexually) followed by genome duplication. Now, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology have generated a new species of allopolyploid plant without sexual reproduction. "Our finding demonstrates that, contrary to common belief, new allopolyploid species can arise through asexual processes, and it provides us with a novel tool to generate new plant species, including novel crops," says Ralph Bock, senior author of the study.