Cereal domestication and evolution of branching: evidence for soft selection in the Tb1 orthologue of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.).

ABSTRACT:

Background

During the Neolithic revolution, early farmers altered plant development to domesticate crops. Similar traits were often selected independently in different wild species; yet the genetic basis of this parallel phenotypic evolution remains elusive. Plant architecture ranks among these target traits composing the domestication syndrome. We focused on the reduction of branching which occurred in several cereals, an adaptation known to rely on the major gene Teosinte-branched1 (Tb1) in maize. We investigate the role of the Tb1 orthologue (Pgtb1) in the domestication of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), an African outcrossing cereal.

Methodology/principal findings

Gene cloning, expression profiling, QTL mapping and molecular evolution analysis were combined in a compa

SUBMITTER: Remigereau MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3142148 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature