Researchers from the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation (CCFI) at Murdoch University have led the generation of a pan-genome tailored specifically to Australian chickpea varieties, paving the way for improved chickpea production across the country.
The comprehensive genetic resource, composed of high-quality assemblies of the 15 most popular chickpea varieties grown by Australian farmers, uncovered previously uncharacterised genetic diversity that will prove essential in understanding and improving desirable agronomic traits that underpin the success of the nation’s Chickpea production, including yield, flowering time, acid soil tolerance and drought tolerance.
The pangenome analysis conducted in collaboration with Chickpea Breeding Australia (a Grains Research and Development Corporation and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development joint initiative), Agriculture Victoria Research, the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the UWA Institute of Agriculture, and BGI Research, identified 34 345 gene families, including 13 986 dispensable families enriched for genes associated with key agronomic traits.
The research pinpointed structural variations that influence flowering time, seed weight, disease resistance, drought resilience and acid soil resilience, highlighting a major opportunity to expand the genetic base of Australian chickpeas and ultimately support the long-term sustainability of chickpea production in Australia.
The researchers also discovered that Australian varieties could be further improved through the introduction of the “QTL hotspot” region for drought tolerance that has already demonstrated a 15- 22% yield advantage after its introgression in elite cultivars in India, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. CCFI is now working with industry partners to introgress the “QTL-hotspot” for drought tolerance into Australian varieties and deliver them to chickpea growers.
Image: CCFI Director, Prof Rajeev Varshney and GRDC Senior Manager, Oilseeds and Pulses, Dr Francis Ogbonnaya inspect Australian chickpeas
