Alfalfa has formed an independent subgroup after more than 2,000 years of immigration to China

Alfalfa has formed an independent subgroup more than 2,000 years after immigrating to China

Alfalfa immigration has formed an independent subgroup after more than 2000 years.

Alfalfa in China Photo courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Alfalfa in China Photo courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Recently, scientists have conducted an analysis of the population structure of alfalfa germplasm resources at home and abroad and the differentiation between subgroups of different geographical sources.
Research has shown that alfalfa from China has formed an independent subgroup during the long-term selection process.
The subsequent development of molecular design and breeding of alfalfa laid a theoretical foundation
.

This work was completed by the forage breeding and cultivation technology innovation team of the Beijing Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the relevant research results were published in "Acta Botany"

The forage breeding and cultivation technology innovation team of Beijing Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences completed,

According to the team's chief researcher Yang Qingchuan, alfalfa is the world's most important legume forage, known as the "king of grass"
.

Alfalfa is native to Transcaucasus, Iran and Asia Minor

The researchers re-sequenced 220 core collections of alfalfa
.

The analysis of population structure shows that alfalfa varieties in China have formed an independent subgroup during the long process of domestication and improvement, indicating that geographical origin plays an important role in the differentiation of alfalfa populations

Through the analysis of the influence of different geographic regions on the genetic diversity of alfalfa varieties in China, 350 common candidate genetic regions and 686 selective genes were identified
.

Among them, 17 selected regions closely related to phenotype showed significant differences among subgroups of different geographic origins

The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Science and Technology Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
.

(Source: China Science News Li Chenfu Songchuan)

Related paper information: https://doi.

https://doi.
org/10.
1111/jipb.
13172