Understanding the Origin of Peanut: A Next Generation Sequencing Approach

The cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is widely used as a source of protein and oil and is cultivated worldwide in tropics, subtropics and in warmer areas of temperate regions. It is an allotetraploid species (2n=4x=40) of recent origin with an AABB genome constitution. Cytogenetic and molecular evidence suggests that A. duranensis (A-genome) and A. ipaensis (B-genome) are the wild diploid species (2n=2x=20) most likely involved in the origin of the cultigen. To date, only one accession of A. ipaensis K30076 was ever found and is therefore considered to be the donor of the B genome in peanut. In contrast, there are many different accessions of A. duranensis that are possible donors of the A genome. In this context, in order to identify the A. duranensis accession most closely related to that involved in the peanut origin, we performed whole genome sequencing of 11 different accessions of A. duranensis using MiSeq technology (Illumina). The NGSEP software was used to discover SNPs and Indels between the A. duranensis accessions and the pseudomolecules of the cultivar TIFrunner (Arachis hypogaea subsp. hypogaea var. hypogaea). This study will allow the identification of the accession that more likely participated as the A genome donor of peanut genome, and will provide a better understanding of the genetic origin of this crop.