New research explores the adaptation strategies of polyploid plants, offering insights for cancer treatment and enhancing crop resilience against environmental challenges.
Whole genome duplication (WGD) occurs across all kingdoms of life. While it is most prevalent in plants, it also takes place in certain highly aggressive cancers. Following WGD, a cell acquires additional sets of genomes and is referred to as polyploid.
Most of our major crops are also polyploid, including, wheat, apples, bananas, oats, strawberries, sugar, and brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower. Polyploidy also occurs in some of the most aggressive gliomas (a brain cancer) and is associated with cancer progression. In general, polyploidy has been associated with robustness (as in crops) and adaptation to the environment (as in cancers that metastasize).
Because polyploids have more genomes to manage, the doubling of these genomes can be a weakness, so it is important to understand what factors stabilize young polyploids and how genome-doubled populations evolve.
In this new study, published in DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114576
The study was funded by the European Research Council, BBSRC, and the Leverhulme Trust.