Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 21 April 2021 Wheat speciation and adaptation: perspectives from reticulate evolution Authors Xuebo Zhao1,2, Xiangdong Fu1,2, Changbin Yin1,*, Fei Lu1,2,3,* Affiliations 1State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 3CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Correspondence
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[email protected] (C.Y.) Abstract Reticulate evolution through the interchanging of genetic components across organisms can impact significantly on the fitness and adaptation of species. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum subsp. aestivum) is one of the most important crops in the world. Allopolyploid speciation, frequent hybridization, extensive introgression, and occasional horizontal gene transfer (HGT) have been shaping a typical paradigm of reticulate evolution in bread wheat and its wild relatives, which is likely to have a substantial influence on phenotypic traits and environmental adaptability of bread wheat. In this review, we outlined the evolutionary history of bread wheat and its wild relatives with a highlight on the interspecific hybridization events, demonstrating the reticulate relationship between species/subspecies in the genera Triticum and Aegilops. Furthermore, we discussed the genetic mechanisms and evolutionary significance underlying the introgression of bread wheat and its wild relatives. An in-depth understanding of the evolutionary process of Triticum species should be beneficial to future genetic study and breeding of bread wheat.