The genomes of the ancestral species of peanut - a remarkable case of living archaeology

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) has a large (~2.7 Gbp) allotetraploid genome with closely related component genomes making its genome very challenging to assemble. Here we report genome sequences of its diploid ancestors (A. duranensis and A. ipaënsis). We show they are similar to the peanut's A- and B-genomes and use them use them to identify candidate disease resistance genes, create improved tetraploid transcript assemblies, and show genetic exchange between peanut's component genomes. Based on remarkably high DNA identity and biogeography, we conclude that A. ipaënsis may be a descendant of the very same population that contributed the B-genome to cultivated peanut. Overall design: Whole Genome Bisulphite Sequencing of the peanut species Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis.