Scientists unlock genetic key to higher peanut yield

Unlocking genetic key to higher-yielding peanut varieties through pan-genome analysis published in Nature Genetics for crop breeding advancements.

A team of 19 researchers from Australia and China have unlocked the genetic key to developing higher-yielding varieties of peanut or groundnut, a major food and oilseed crop in India.

Their pan-genome analysis, revealing the structural variation associated with seed size and weight traits in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), was published in the latest edition of Nature Genetics, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

The researchers from Western Australia’s Murdoch University, Henan Agricultural University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences assembled a pan-genome of peanut expected to serve as a fundamental resource for the genetic enhancement of legume crops.

A pan-genome represents the entire range of genes within a population or species, encompassing both unique and shared genetic material.

The study marks three Chinese lead authors – Kunkun Zhao, Hongzhang Xue, and Guowei Li – as equal contributors. Among its other authors are Annapurna Chitikineni and Rajeev K. Varshney from Murdoch University.

The researchers studied the genome-wide diversity of 269 peanut accessions, including 61 wild species, landraces and improved species. They found significant genomic variations and highlighted two of the most critical traits that affect peanut yield: seed size and weight.

Accession refers to a distinct sample or group of plant material, typically representing a single species or cultivar, collected from a specific location at a particular time. A landrace is a local cultivar improved by traditional agricultural methods.