Publications
Citation
Foster JT, Allan GJ, Chan AP, Rabinowicz PD, Ravel J, Jackson PJ, Keim P
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms for Assessing Genetic Diversity in Castor Bean (Ricinus Communis).
BMC Plant Biology. 2010 Sep 01; 10: 13.
Abstract
Castor bean (Ricinus communis) is an agricultural crop and garden ornamental that is widely cultivated and has been introduced worldwide. Understanding population structure and the distribution of castor bean cultivars has been challenging because of limited genetic variability. We analyzed the population genetics of R. communis in a worldwide collection of plants from germplasm and from naturalized populations in Florida, U.S. To assess genetic diversity we conducted survey sequencing of the genomes of seven diverse cultivars and compared the data to a reference genome assembly of a widespread cultivar (Hale). We determined the population genetic structure of 676 samples using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 48 loci.