Lotus corniculatus is a widely distributed perennial legume, and its strong adaptability to different environments and resistant to barren make it an excellent forage and ecological restoration plant. In the past 10 years, frequent extreme weather events severely affected global agricultural production. The application and research of plants like L. corniculatus with strong resistance to stress will be of great significance in the long run. Controlling cyanogentic glycosides content in a low toxicity range and increasing biomass have always been important breeding goals of L. corniculatus. However, its molecular genetics and genomic relationship among populations are yet to be uncovered, which has hindered the progress of breeding.
Our study provided a large number of genomic resources and described genetic relationship and population structure among worldwide 272 L. corniculatus by genome resequencing using diploid Lotus japonicus reference genome. Our study provides large genomic resources and attempted to reach the point of a better understanding of population structure, geographic distribution, divergence, centers of genetic diversity, and factors controlling the spread of L. corniculatus and provide a theoretical basis for the breeding programs of L. corniculatus in future. We believe that the results of this study will appeal to a wide range of readers and have far-reaching implications. Less...