Page 241 - Plant Canada 2024 Proceeding

PLANT CANADA 2024

[P73] CHROMOSOME-LEVEL GENOME ASSEMBLY AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE
FORAGE LEGUME, SAINFOIN (ONOBRYCHIS VICIIFOLIA SCOP.). Cuong Nguyen , David Konkin ,
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1 1
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Rodrigo Ortega Polo , Bill Biligetu , Hari P. Poudel , and Stacy D. Singer . Lethbridge Research and
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Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 5403 1 Ave S, Lethbridge, AB, T1J 4B1;
st
2 Aquatic Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, 110 Gymnasium Place,
Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0W9; and Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Bioresources,
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51 Campus Dr, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8
Correspondence to: vietcuong.nguyen@agr.gc.ca

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.), a perennial forage legume, is valued for its high nutritional content
and resistance to pests and diseases, as well as its ability to reduce fermentation-related bloat in
ruminants due to the presence of condensed tannins. Despite recent advances in the genomic
characterization of sainfoin, further research is required to understand its genetic architecture, secondary
metabolite pathways and potential for breeding. In order to expand our breeding toolkit for this species,
we are carrying out the de novo genome assembly and comprehensive annotation of a genotype of the
sainfoin cultivar AAC Mountainview (2n=4x=28). Using PacBio and Nanopore long-read sequencing
technologies, as well as Illumina short-read sequencing, combined with Hi-C scaffolding, we have
achieved highly contiguous, chromosome-level assemblies for the four haplotypes of this genome. In
addition, we are performing extensive gene modeling and annotation, utilizing IsoSeq and RNAseq data
from different tissues across various developmental stages to validate gene predictions and explore
tissue-specific gene expression patterns. This study will also include the annotation of transposable
elements and the investigation of epigenetic modifications, which play a crucial role in genome evolution
and function. The findings from this study will provide a valuable genomic resource for sainfoin, facilitating
further research and breeding programs aimed at improving this important forage crop.

*[P74] IN VITRO PROPAGATION AS A METHOD TO PRODUCE SPECIFIC ANTIOXIDANT
COMPOUNDS IN LINGONBERRY. Umanath Sharma , Abir U. Igamberdiev , and Samir C. Debnath .
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1 St. John’s Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 204 Brookfield Road,
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St. John’s, NL A1E 0B2, Canada; and Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland 45
Arctic Ave. Room CSF 2211 St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
Correspondence to: usharma@mun.ca

Micropropagation is an advanced vegetative propagation technology employed to produce a large
number of high-quality plants in a limited time and space and has been used extensively in Vaccinium
species, including lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.). There is increased importance of the lingonberry
as a health-promoting fruit crop containing a high number of antioxidant properties. Although most of the
lingonberries are harvested from the wild, utilizing tissue culture techniques for rapid propagation and
antioxidant compound production could benefit the commercial production of this crop. Two genotypes
including one wild clone and one hybrid were used for the experiment. Plants in tissue culture were grown
in semi-solid media in sigma bottles containing 1mg/L Zeatin as plant growth regulator and greenhouse
grown plants were grown in plastic pots containing peat and perlite in the ratio of 2:1 V/V. Shoots from
tissue culture plants and leaves from greenhouse-grown plants were sampled and frozen in liquid
nitrogen until extraction. Antioxidant compound extraction was done with a methanolic solution containing
formic acid. Eight commercially available compounds including Delphinidin 3,5-diglucoside, Delphinidin 3-
O-β-D-glucoside, Cyanidine 3-galactoside, Petunidin 3-glucoside, Cyanidin 3-arabinoside, Pelargonidin 3-
glucoside, Malvidin 3-glucoside and Procyanidin A2 were used as standards and to quantify the
compounds. Mass spectrometric (MS) detection and separation using high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC), identified four antioxidant compounds in lingonberry genotypes. Interestingly,
proanthocyanidin A2 was found to be 16-22 times more prevalent in tissue culture plants than in
greenhouse-grown plants. Similarly, cyanidin 3-galactoside was 7-14 times more in tissue culture plants.
Although not all the compounds were detected in lingonberry, some of the individual compounds
dramatically increased in tissue culture conditions, suggesting the potential implication of
micropropagation in the specific antioxidant compound production.

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