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Asparagus

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Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources

Abstract

In the genus Asparagus, about 230 taxa are considered to be accepted as species. Among these, A. officinalis is an important vegetable plant that is cultivated throughout of the world. The latest infrageneric classification divided Asparagus into three subgenera: Asparagus, Myrsiphyllum, and Protasparagus. These species are widely distributed in the Old World continents, and the center of species diversity is Africa, especially South Africa and adjacent regions. The genus Asparagus contains dioecious and hermaphrodite species. Hermaphrodite species that belong to the subgenera Myrsiphyllum and Protasparagus have bisexual flowers, which have stamens and pistils in one flower, whereas dioecious species that belong to the subgenus Asparagus have male and female flowers, which have fertile stamens and sterile pistils or sterile stamens and fertile pistils in one flower. A phylogenetic analysis using ITS sequences showed that dioecious species evolved from hermaphrodite species. Although the genetic diversity of this species is relatively low, wild relatives in the genus Asparagus have several agriculturally important traits that A. officinalis does not have, such as salt tolerance, drought tolerance, acid soil tolerance, and disease resistance. To introgress agricultural traits of wild Asparagus into A. officinalis, interspecific hybridization has been carried out.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr. A. Uragami and Dr. T. Sonoda for their useful advices and information. We also thank Mr. I. Konno for the pictures of the Asparagus flowers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980–8577, Japan

    Akira Kanno

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Kojirakawa 1-4-12, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata, 990-8560, Japan

    Jun Yokoyama

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  1. Akira Kanno
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Correspondence to Akira Kanno .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nutraceutical Research, Clemson University, Jordan Hall 109, Clemson, 29634, South Carolina, USA

    Chittaranjan Kole

Appendix: A List of Asparagus Species in the World

Appendix: A List of Asparagus Species in the World

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Kanno, A., Yokoyama, J. (2011). Asparagus. In: Kole, C. (eds) Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20450-0_3

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