title: Gene flow among wild and domesticated almond species: insights from chloroplast and nuclear markers.
abstract: Hybridization has played a central role in the evolutionary history of domesticated plants. Notably, several breeding programs relying on gene introgression from the wild compartment have been performed in fruit tree species within the genus Prunus but few studies investigated spontaneous gene flow among wild and domesticated Prunus species. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of genetic relationships and levels of gene flow between domesticated and wild Prunus species is needed. Combining nuclear and chloroplastic microsatellites, we investigated the gene flow and hybridization among two key almond tree species, the cultivated Prunus dulcis and one of the most widespread wild relative Prunus orientalis in the Fertile Crescent. We detected high genetic diversity levels in both species along with substantial and symmetric gene flow between the domesticated P. dulcis and the wild P. orientalis. These results were discussed in light of the cultivated species diversity, by outlining the frequent spontaneous genetic contributions of wild species to the domesticated compartment. In addition, crop-to-wild gene flow suggests that ad hoc transgene containment strategies would be required if genetically modified cultivars were introduced in the northwestern Mediterranean.
authors.affiliation: Université Montpellier 2, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 Montpellier cedex, France.
authors.forename: Malou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delplancke
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nadir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anahí
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Espíndola
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive Montpellier cedex, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Joly
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive Montpellier cedex, France.
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benoit
authors.affiliation: Université Montpellier 2, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 Montpellier cedex, France.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brouck
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arrigo
keywords: Amygdalus; Prunus dulcis; gene flow; genetic diversity; introgression; microsatellites