Polyploidy is a frequent phenomenon in nature, and its implications for genetics and agriculture are fascinating.

A 60-year-old story with partial and inconclusive evidence: We have investigated the genome properties of sainfoin.
Polyploidy is a frequent phenomenon in nature, and its implications for genetics and agriculture are fascinating.
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We extensively use cytogenetics and genomic approaches to address fundamental questions in genetics and agriculture. Polyploidy is a frequent phenomenon in nature, and its implications for genetics and agriculture are fascinating; however, the underlying mechanics are complex and not fully understood.

Polyploidy is a common feature in eukaryotes, and one of the paramount consequences is better environmental adaptation. Many plants, such as wheat and potato, are polyploids with enhanced adaptability to diverse environments. Sainfoin, Onobrychis viciifolia Scop., is a tetraploid (2n = 4x = 28, 1225 Mbp) forage legume plant belonging to the Fabaceae family with great potential in sustainable agriculture (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Various botanical parts and developmental stages of forage crop sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia). Photo by Tuana Aksoy, Department of Agricultural Genetic Engineering, Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Türkiye
Figure 1. Various botanical parts and developmental stages of forage crop sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia). Photo by Tuana Aksoy, Department of Agricultural Genetic Engineering, Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Türkiye

Traditionally, heterochromatin forms compact and heavily stained domains in eukaryotic genomes. Tandem repetitive DNA sequences are inherently either difficult to sequence or challenging to assemble. Even whole-genome sequencing approaches with next-generation sequencing technologies have limitations in resolving these genomic regions. We utilized a combination of cytogenetic, genomic and bioinformatic approaches to establish a comprehensive karyotype of sainfoin, define its heterochromatic chromosome regions and interpret its polyploid origin (Figure 2). Some questions that we raised in our study are whether sainfoin, an agriculturally successful example, can be a model for domestication and crop improvement, what we see in the sainfoin karyotype could be a hint of evolutionary consequences of polyploidy, and how the genome might be reorganized after genome duplication. Finally, we discuss our novel and complementary findings in this underutilized polyploid crop with unique and complex chromosomal features. Curiously, our conclusions may need to be tested and challenged in time with more advanced techniques.

Figure 2. A summary ideogram for the distribution of repetitive DNA sequences in sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia, 2n = 4x = 28) based on chromosomal mapping by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). See the details in the research article provided below
Figure 2. A summary ideogram for the distribution of repetitive DNA sequences in sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia, 2n = 4x = 28) based on chromosomal mapping by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). See the details in the research article provided above

We are a group of highly enthusiastic, motivated scientists who believe in the power of genetics and agriculture with a focus on chromosomes. We believe that our research experience in the laboratory is unique to our personal, scientific, and professional development. The support among the lab members at all levels, one-for-all, makes us achieve challenges in plant chromosome research to become scientists in the future. You can follow us on Instagram.

Our research is published in the prestigious journal Chromosoma under the Editorial Board members Ingo Schubert and Yamini Dalal. If you want to read our work, follow the link above. Please feel free to contact me at altek2@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments about the work.

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Agriculture
Life Sciences > Biological Sciences > Agriculture
Genetic Hybridization
Life Sciences > Biological Sciences > Genetics and Genomics > Agricultural Genetics > Genetic Hybridization
Speciation
Life Sciences > Biological Sciences > Evolutionary Biology > Speciation
Evolutionary Genetics
Life Sciences > Biological Sciences > Evolutionary Biology > Evolutionary Genetics
  • Chromosoma Chromosoma

    This journal publishes research and review articles on the functional organization of the eukaryotic cell nucleus, with a particular emphasis on the structure and dynamics of chromatin and chromosomes; the expression and replication of genomes; genome organization and evolution, and more.

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