AUTHOR=Wöhner Thomas W. , Emeriewen Ofere F. , Wittenberg Alexander H. J. , Nijbroek Koen , Wang Rui Peng , Blom Evert-Jan , Schneiders Harrie , Keilwagen Jens , Berner Thomas , Hoff Katharina J. , Gabriel Lars , Thierfeldt Hannah , Almolla Omar , Barchi Lorenzo , Schuster Mirko , Lempe Janne , Peil Andreas , Flachowsky Henryk 

TITLE=The structure of the tetraploid sour cherry ‘Schattenmorelle’ (Prunus cerasus L.) genome reveals insights into its segmental allopolyploid nature

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1284478

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1284478

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Sour cherry (<italic>Prunus cerasus</italic> L.) is an important allotetraploid cherry species that evolved in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea regions from a hybridization of the tetraploid ground cherry (<italic>Prunus fruticosa</italic> Pall.) and an unreduced pollen of the diploid sweet cherry (<italic>P. avium</italic> L.) ancestor. Details of when and where the evolution of this species occurred are unclear, as well as the effect of hybridization on the genome structure. To gain insight, the genome of the sour cherry cultivar ‘Schattenmorelle’ was sequenced using Illumina NovaSeqTM and Oxford Nanopore long-read technologies, resulting in a ~629-Mbp pseudomolecule reference genome. The genome could be separated into two subgenomes, with subgenome <italic>Pce<sub>S</sub></italic>_a originating from <italic>P. avium</italic> and subgenome <italic>Pce<sub>S</sub></italic>_f originating from <italic>P. fruticosa</italic>. The genome also showed size reduction compared to ancestral species and traces of homoeologous sequence exchanges throughout. Comparative analysis confirmed that the genome of sour cherry is segmental allotetraploid and evolved very recently in the past.</p>