Genetic Diversity and Population Genomics in Plant Systems
Summary
Genetic diversity underpins the capacity of plant species to adapt to changing environments, resist pests and pathogens, and sustain ecosystem services. Population genomics applies high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analyses to characterise genome-wide variation within and among natural or cultivated populations. By uncovering patterns of single nucleotide polymorphisms, structural variants and allele frequency shifts, researchers can infer demographic history, detect signatures of selection on adaptive traits and guide conservation or breeding programmes. In woody and herbaceous systems alike, integrating genome-scale data with ecological and phenotypic measurements reveals the evolutionary forces shaping genetic structure, informs the management of germplasm resources and accelerates the development of climate-resilient crops and forest stands.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have leveraged population-scale whole-genome resequencing of hundreds of individuals to map single nucleotide variation across geographic gradients in a major bamboo species, revealing unexpectedly low genome-wide diversity coupled with high heterozygosity and signatures of balancing selection in loci underlying cell wall and metabolic traits. Comparative analyses of chloroplast haplotypes and nuclear microsatellite markers in woody bamboo populations have delineated distinct phylogeographic lineages, illuminated demographic expansions following glacial periods and clarified the role of gene flow in speciation. These efforts demonstrate how integrated genomic and phylogeographic frameworks can resolve evolutionary processes in long-lived perennial plants.
Genetic Diversity and Population Genomics in Plant Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in genetic diversity and population genomics in plant systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): A variation at a single base pair in the DNA sequence among individuals.
Microsatellite (simple sequence repeat, SSR): Short, tandemly repeated DNA motifs used as highly polymorphic genetic markers.
Heterozygosity: The proportion of individuals in a population carrying two different alleles at a locus, reflecting genetic variation.
Phylogeography: The study of the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species.
Balancing selection: A form of natural selection that maintains multiple alleles at a locus within a population.
References
- Identification of New Cultivar and Different Provenances of Dendrocalamus brandisii (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) Using Simple Sequence Repeats Developed from the Whole Genome. Plants (2024).
- Analysis of 427 genomes reveals moso bamboo population structure and genetic basis of property traits. Nature Communications (2021).
- Genetic structure and differentiation in Dendrocalamus sinicus (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) populations provide insight into evolutionary history and speciation of woody bamboos. Scientific Reports (2018).
- Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Natural Pinus koraiensis Populations. Forests (2019).
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