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Article|28 Dec 2023|OPEN
Phased genomics reveals hidden somatic mutations and provides insight into fruit development in sweet orange
Nan Wang1,2,3,7 , Peng Chen1,4,7 , , Yuanyuan Xu1,4,7 , Lingxia Guo1,4 , Xianxin Li1,4 , Hualin Yi2,5 , Robert M. Larkin2,5 , Yongfeng Zhou3,6 , Xiuxin Deng2,5 , Qiang Xu,2,5 ,
1Institute of Horticultural Research, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, China
2National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
3National Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Breeding, Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
4Yuelu Mountain Laboratory, Changsha, China
5Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, China
6National Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Breeding, Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
7N.W., P.C., and Y.Y.X. contributed equally to this work
*Corresponding author. E-mail: chenpeng@hunaas.cn,xuqiang@mail.hzau.edu.cn

Horticulture Research 11,
Article number: uhad268 (2024)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhad268
Views: 50

Received: 26 Aug 2023
Accepted: 01 Dec 2023
Published online: 28 Dec 2023

Abstract

Although revisiting the discoveries and implications of genetic variations using phased genomics is critical, such efforts are still lacking. Somatic mutations represent a crucial source of genetic diversity for breeding and are especially remarkable in heterozygous perennial and asexual crops. In this study, we focused on a diploid sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and constructed a haplotype-resolved genome using high fidelity (HiFi) reads, which revealed 10.6% new sequences. Based on the phased genome, we elucidate significant genetic admixtures and haplotype differences. We developed a somatic detection strategy that reveals hidden somatic mutations overlooked in a single reference genome. We generated a phased somatic variation map by combining high-depth whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 87 sweet orange somatic varieties. Notably, we found twice as many somatic mutations relative to a single reference genome. Using these hidden somatic mutations, we separated sweet oranges into seven major clades and provide insight into unprecedented genetic mosaicism and strong positive selection. Furthermore, these phased genomics data indicate that genomic heterozygous variations contribute to allele-specific expression during fruit development. By integrating allelic expression differences and somatic mutations, we identified a somatic mutation that induces increases in fruit size. Applications of phased genomics will lead to powerful approaches for discovering genetic variations and uncovering their effects in highly heterozygous plants. Our data provide insight into the hidden somatic mutation landscape in the sweet orange genome, which will facilitate citrus breeding.