Title:

Breeding and Developing Genetic Resources within the Chenopodium genus to Advance the de novo Domestication of C. berlandieri

Quinoa (2n = 4x = 36: AABB), an orphan crop native to South America, is tolerant of drought and saline soils and produces a highly nutritious grain. Given these qualities, the demand for this pseudocereal has been steadily increasing, and quinoa breeding programs can now be found throughout the world. We believe the introduction of a quinoa cultivar developed specifically for Northern New England (NNE) with the region’s climate and disease pressures taken into consideration will benefit local farmers and consumers. This research focuses on utilizing three species within the genus endemic to the region NNE, namely Chenopodium berlandieri (2n = 4x = 36: AABB), C. ficifolium (2n = 2x = 18: BB) and C. foggii (2n = 2x = 18: AA) as sources of germplasm and genetic data to improve quinoa. Through the analysis of quinoa x C. berlandieri hybrids and their progeny, and the development of C. ficifolium as a diploid model species, including genome assembly, this work investigates allelic variation in domestication-related traits and expands genetic resources to be used in marker assisted breeding programs. This work is supported in part by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station and by a grant from USDA-NIFA.

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