Data from: Gene flow among wild and domesticated almond species: insights from chloroplast and nuclear markers

Hybridization has played a central role in the evolutionary history of
domesticated plants. Notably, several breeding programs relying on gene
introgression from the wild compartment have been performed in fruit tree
species within the genus Prunus but few studies investigated spontaneous
gene flow among wild and domesticated Prunus species. Consequently, a
comprehensive understanding of genetic relationships and levels of gene
flow between domesticated and wild Prunus species is needed. Combining
nuclear and chloroplastic microsatellites, we investigated the gene flow
and hybridization among two key almond tree species, the cultivated Prunus
dulcis and one of the most widespread wild relative Prunus orientalis in
the Fertile Crescent. We detected high genetic diversity levels in both
species along with substantial and symmetric gene flow between the
domesticated P. dulcis and the wild P. orientalis. These results were
discussed in light of the cultivated species diversity, by outlining the
frequent spontaneous genetic contributions of wild species to the
domesticated compartment. In addition, crop-to-wild gene flow suggests
that ad hoc transgene containment strategies would be required if
genetically modified cultivars were introduced in the northwestern
Mediterranean.