Utilizing evolutionary conservation to detect deleterious mutations and improve genomic prediction in cassava.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an annual root crop which provides the major source of calories for over half a billion people around the world. Since its domestication ~10,000 years ago, cassava has been largely clonally propagated through stem cuttings. Minimal sexual recombination has led to an accumulation of deleterious mutations made evident by heavy inbreeding depression.

Methods

To locate and characterize these deleterious mutations, and to measure selection pressure across the cassava genome, we aligned 52 related Euphorbiaceae and other related species representing millions of years of evolution. With single base-pair resolution of genetic conservation, we used protein structure models, amino acid impact, and evolutionary conservation across the Euphorb

SUBMITTER: Long EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10112518 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature