Natural GMOs inside the genus Arachis L.

Cultivated peanut is an allotetraploid species that received the A and B genomes from Arachis duranensis and A. ipaensis. Homologs of the agrobacterial cucumopine synthase gene were previously found in both genomes as a result of horizontal transfer [1]. These sequences are found both in ancestral species and in cultivated peanuts. In addition to them, natural GMOs are A. monticola and A. stenosperma. How widespread natural GMOs are within the genus Arachis is currently unknown. The aim of our study was to search for natural GMOs within the genus Arachis and to analyze the polymorphism of natural transgenes out the studied species. METHODS: Gene sequencing for various Arachis species was determined using the bwa [2], GATK [3] and samtools [4] packages based on NGS data aggregated in the SRA NCBI database. RESULTS: We have found homologues of the cucumopine synthase gene in the genomes of A. appressipila, A. batizocoi, A. cardenasii, A. correntina, A. diogoi, A. duranensis, A. glandulifera, A. helodes, A. hoehnei, A. ipaensis, A. macedoi, A. magna, A. monticola, A. paraguariensis, A. pintoi, A. pusilla, A. rigonii, A. stenophylla, A. stenosperma, A. trinitensis, A. valida, A. villosa, and also characterized the intraspecific variability of the gene in cultivated peanuts. In 16 of the 22 species studied, the gene is full-length. The report will consider the possibility of using the cucumopine synthase gene in peanut phylogenetic studies. CONCLUSION: The list of species of natural GMOs within the genus Arachis today includes 23 species.