Discarded sequencing reads uncover natural variation in pest resistance in Thlaspi arvense.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the genomic basis of natural variation in plant pest resistance is an important goal in plant science, but it usually requires large and labor-intensive phenotyping experiments. Here, we explored the possibility that non-target reads from plant DNA sequencing can serve as phenotyping proxies for addressing such questions. We used data from a whole-genome and -epigenome sequencing study of 207 natural lines of field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) that were grown in a common environment and spontaneously colonized by aphids, mildew, and other microbes. We found that the numbers of non-target reads assigned to the pest species differed between populations, had significant SNP-based heritability, and were associated with climate of origin and baseline glucosinolate contents.

SUBMITTER: Galanti D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11658765 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature