Lupinus cosentinii and Lupinus digitatus Genome sequencing
Lupins are underutilized legume plants with protein-rich seeds, thus offering a valuable source of plant-based dietary protein. However, lupins are the least characterized legume group due to the scarcity of genomic resources and are weakly supported as a sister clade to the remaining core papilionoids. We report the first whole genome sequences two wild lupin species: Lupinus cosetninii (2n = 32), which is native to the Mediterranean coast and has been successfully domesticated in Australia, and L. digitatus (2n = 36), which is native to the pan-Saharan region. Both species are well adapted to drought-prone environments and offer promising genomic resources to enhance the utilization of lupin diversity in the development of sustainable and climate-friendly crops. The two species can also be crossed, which will facilitate their utilization and indicates the potential for gene flow between them. In contrast to previous reports, our results indicate that both species are tetraploids, excluding the presence of aneuploidy. The comparison of these lupin species enhances our fundamental knowledge about the lupin genome and provides novel resources for crop improvement.