Common Vetch, Valuable Germplasm for Resilient Agriculture: Genetic Characterization and Spanish Core Collection Development

Abstract

Common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) is a legume used for animal feed because of its high protein content and great capacity for nitrogen fixation, making this crop relevant in sustainable agriculture. The Spanish vetch collection, conserved at the Spanish Plant Genetic Resources Center (CRF), is one of the largest collections of this species worldwide, including landraces, wild relatives mainly collected in Spain, and commercial cultivars, but also accessions of international origin. The analysis of the genetic diversity of this material, whose genome has not been sequenced yet, and the assembly of a representative collection could play a pivotal role in conserving and exploiting these genetic resources in breeding programs mainly in those focused on consequences and demands of climate change. In this work, a set of 14 simple sequence repeat (SSR) reference alleles for genetic diversity analysis of the CRF vetch collection has been developed, used for genotyping more than 545 common vetch accessions from all over the world and validated. All the tested markers were polymorphic for the analyzed accessions. Overall, at least 86 different loci were identified with 2–11 alleles per locus with an average of 6.1 alleles per locus. Also, the analyses of the generated SSR database support that most of these SSR markers are transferable across closely related species of Vicia genus. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that wild relatives have a higher genetic diversity than landraces. However, cultivars have similar diversity than landraces, indicating that genetic variability has been barely lost due to the breeding of this legume. Low differences of genetic variations between Spanish and non-Spanish accessions have been observed, suggesting a high degree of diversity within Spanish genotypes, which provide 95% of the total genetic variation, so we have focused our efforts on characterizing genotypes of Spanish origin that were further studied using storage protein profiles. Based on SSR, seed protein profiles, and agromorphological and passport data, a vetch core collection (VCC) containing 47 V. sativa accessions of Spanish origin has been established. In this collection, the characterization has been expanded using ISSR markers, and it has been reevaluated with new agromorphological data, including drought tolerance characters. This VCC presents a minimum loss of genetic diversity concerning the total collection and constitutes an invaluable material that can be used in future breeding programs for direct use in a resilient agricultural system.

Genome survey sequencing of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) and genetic diversity analysis of Chinese germplasm with genomic SSR markers

“…The total number of common vetch populations is quite difficult to estimate, as this specie was distributed worldwide. More than 20,000 accessions were kept in the plant genetic resources (PGR) [ 2 ]. It is difficult for farmers to directly use or incorporate into breeding programmes due to the large number of germplasm resources.…”

“…However, the genetic information of common vetch remains largely unknown, although some studies have performed transcriptome analysis, genetic diversity analysis with ESTs based on SSR markers, and EMS-induced mutation development [2,[5][6][7]. Nevertheless, the genomic information regarding common vetch currently remains unavailable, as well as the systematic analysis of Chinese common vetch germplasm.…”

“…Common vetch ( Vicia sativa L.) is one kind of self-pollinating annual legume with excellent suitability in cold and dry regions, such as western Asia and northern Africa [ 1 ]. As an inexpensive and rich source of protein, common vetch grows quickly and is normally used for feeding livestock on account of its high digestibility [ 2 ]. In addition, common vetch can also be used as a green manure crop on idle farmland due to its strong ability to fix nitrogen [ 3 ].…”

Intercropping Vicia sativa L. Improves the Moisture, Microbial Community, Enzyme Activity and Nutrient in Rhizosphere Soils of Young Kiwifruit Plants and Enhances Plant Growth

“…The correlation analysis shows that organic matter, total nitrogen and available potassium in kiwifruit rhizosphere soils were positively correlated with their bacterium number, actinomycete number, sucrase activity, urease activity and phosphatase activity, and available phosphorus was positively correlated with phosphatase activity. As a superior green fertilizer, the decomposition of V. sativa can increase soil organic matter, and it also has a great capacity for nitrogen fixation [23,24]. Moreover, intercropping V. sativa could improve and maintain soil moisture, enrich soil microbial community, as well as enhance soil enzyme activities related to nutrient utilization.…”

“…sativa, in the subfamily Papilionoideae of Fabaceae, is a well-known species widely distributed in Central Asia, North Asia, Europe, and North America [21,22]. Due to its high protein content and great capacity for nitrogen fixation, it is considered as a superior forage and green fertilizer, which plays an energetic function in sustainable agriculture [23,24]. Wang et al [25] reported that V. sativa and oat intercropping had greater forage yields and economic benefits compared with the corresponding monocultures in the agro-pastoral region of China, and a sowing ratio of oat at 50% was recommended.…”