Data from: New insights into the history of domesticated and wild apricots and its contribution to Plum pox virus resistance

Studying domesticated species and their wild relatives allows
understanding of the mechanisms of population divergence and adaptation,
and identifying valuable genetic resources. Apricot is an important fruit
in the Northern hemisphere, where it is threatened by the Plum pox virus
(PPV), causing the sharka disease. The histories of apricot domestication
and of its resistance to sharka are however still poorly understood. We
used 18 microsatellite markers to genotype a collection of 230 wild trees
from Central Asia and 142 cultivated apricots as representatives of the
worldwide cultivated apricot germplasm; we also performed experimental PPV
inoculation tests. The genetic markers revealed highest levels of
diversity in Central Asian and Chinese wild and cultivated apricots,
confirming an origin in this region. In cultivated apricots, Chinese
accessions were differentiated from more Western accessions, while
cultivated apricots were differentiated from wild apricots. An approximate
Bayesian approach indicated that apricots likely underwent two independent
domestication events, with bottlenecks, from the same wild population.
Central Asian native apricots exhibited genetic subdivision and high
frequency of resistance to sharka. Altogether, our results contribute to
the understanding of the domestication history of cultivated apricot and
point to valuable genetic diversity in the extant genetic resources of
wild apricots.