Beyond the sequencing of the pea genome: opportunities for genomics-based breeding and translational approaches

International audience; The tribe Fabeae comprises more than 300 legume species, including some of the most ancient and important crops like Pisum sativum (pea), Lens culinaris (lentil), and Vicia faba (faba bean) used for food and feed. The genome sequence of pea, released in 2019, is an important milestone for the community working on legumes and especially on Fabeae. It brings into light evidences related to the genome expansion that occurred after the divergence of Fabeae from their sister tribes and highlights different chromosomal rearrangement events specific or not to the Pisum lineage. The pea genome sequence also represents a valuable resource to accelerate our understanding of th…

Pea in the genomic era

GRaSP project Genetics of Rhizobia Selection by Pea

Prod 2019-88aa; National audience; Because of their ability to fix nitrogen in symbiosis with soil bacteria, legumes such as peas have an important role to play in the development of a sustainable agriculture. However, in the field, biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) could be suboptimal as natural Rhizobium leguminosarum viciae (Rlv) populations are quantitatively and qualitatively heterogeneous, with strains varying in their competitiveness and efficiency of BNF [1,2]. There is a general agreement concerning the interest of Rlv inoculation for improving BNF and thus pea yield [3]. However, even when pea seeds are inoculated by efficient Rlv strains these can be outcompeted by indigenous rh…

Taking cool-season grain legume breeding to the next level: the key role of the pea genome sequence

International audience; The transition from a standalone phenotypic selection to a marker-assisted selection has been seen as a great step forward to improve the breeding process and reach the expected goals. More recently, the genomic revolution has also had its great impact on breeding. -omics are now part of the required toolkit for a successful, cost and time-efficient breeding. The genome sequence of pea (Pisum sativum) has been made available in 2019 through a collaborative international effort. This is a great tool for the pea community in general and the Fabeae community in particular. Current challenges facing pea and other Fabeae production are numerous. A large number of traits h…

Association of SNP markers with pea grain protein and grain yield traits in Italy : preliminary results

Grain yield and quality are the main economically important traits in breeding of field pea (Pisum sativum L.). The objective of our work was investigating trait-marker associations in elite pea germplasm, with the final aim to develop marker-assisted selection procedures for these traits. The genetic base for this study was represented by three connected recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations obtained from paired crosses between three genotypes (the varieties Attika, Isard and Kaspa) which featured different geographical origin and outstanding adaptation to Italian cropping environments. At least 86 F7 lines per RIL generated by single-seed descent were evaluated for grain yield, plant …