Biology subjects

Pailles, Y.

Publications and source records attributed to Pailles, Y..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Fonio millet genome unlocks African orphan crop diversity for agriculture in a changing climate

Sustainable food production in the context of climate change necessitates diversification of agriculture and a more efficient utilization of plant genetic resources. Fonio millet (Digitaria exilis) is an orphan African cereal crop with a great potential for dryland agriculture. Here, we established high-quality genomic resources to facilitate fonio improvement through molecular breeding. These include a chromosome-scale reference assembly and deep re-sequencing of 183 cultivated and wild Digitaria accessions, enabling insights into genetic diversity, population structure, and domestication. Fonio diversity is shaped by climatic, geographic, and ethnolinguistic factors. Two genes associated with seed size and shattering showed signatures of selection. Most known domestication genes from other cereal models however have not experienced strong selection in fonio, providing direct targets to rapidly improve this crop for agriculture in hot and dry environments.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

A diversity of traits contributes to salinity tolerance of wild Galapagos tomatoes seedlings

Traits of modern crops have been heavily selected in agriculture, causing the commercial lines to be more susceptible to harsh conditions, which their wild relatives are naturally better able to withstand. Understanding the developed mechanisms of tolerance present in wild relatives can enhance crop performance under stress. In this study, salinity tolerance traits of two species of wild tomato endemic to the Galapagos Islands, Solanum cheesmaniae and Solanum galapagense, were investigated. Since these tomatoes grow well despite being constantly splashed with seawater, they could be a valuable genetic resource for improving salinity tolerance in commercial tomatoes. To explore their potential, over 20 traits reflecting plant growth, physiology and ion content were recorded in 67 accessions of S. cheesmaniae and S. galapagense and two commercial tomato lines of Solanum lycopersicum. Salt treatments of 200 mM NaCl were applied for ten days, using supported hydroponics. Great natural variation was evident in the responses of the Galapagos tomatoes to salt stress and they also displayed greater tolerance to salt stress than the commercial lines tested, based on multivariate trait analyses. Although Galapagos tomatoes in general exhibited better tolerance to salt stress than the commercial lines tested, the accessions LA0317, LA1449 and LA1403 showed particularly high salinity tolerance based on growth maintenance under stress. Thus, Galapagos tomatoes should be further explored using forward genetic studies to identify and investigate the genes underlying their high tolerance and be used as a resource for increasing salinity tolerance of commercial tomatoes. The generated data, along with useful analysis tools, have been packaged and made publicly available via an interactive online application (https://github.com/mmjulkowska/La_isla_de_tomato) to facilitate trait selection and the use of Galapagos tomatoes for the development of salt tolerant commercial tomatoes.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2017

The genome sequence of the wild tomato Solanum pimpinellifolium provides insights into salinity tolerance

Solanum pimpinellifolium, a wild relative of cultivated tomato, offers a wealth of breeding potential for several desirable traits such as tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Here, we report the genome and annotation of S. pimpinellifolium LA0480. The LA0480 genome size (811 Mb) and the number of annotated genes (25,970) are within the range observed for other sequenced tomato species. We developed and utilized the Dragon Eukaryotic Analyses Platform (DEAP) to functionally annotate the LA0480 protein-coding genes. Additionally, we used DEAP to compare protein function between S. pimpinellifolium and cultivated tomato. Our data suggest enrichment in genes involved in biotic and abiotic stress responses. Moreover, we present phenotypic data from one field experiment that demonstrate a greater salinity tolerance for fruit-and yield-related traits in S. pimpinellifolium compared with cultivated tomato. To understand the genomic basis for these differences in S. pimpinellifolium and S. lycopersicum, we analyzed 15 genes that have previously been shown to mediate salinity tolerance in plants. We show that S. pimpinellifolium has a higher copy number of the inositol-3-phosphate synthase and phosphatase genes, which are both key enzymes in the production of inositol and its derivatives. Moreover, our analysis indicates that changes occurring in the inositol phosphate pathway may contribute to the observed higher salinity tolerance in LA0480. Altogether, our work provides essential resources to understand and unlock the genetic and breeding potential of S. pimpinellifolium, and to discover the genomic basis underlying its environmental robustness.

plant biology↗