Pangenome-guided breeding restores high-altitude adaptation and improves yield in Tartary buckwheat
(2026) Cell — Vol. 189, n° 17, p. 5214-5231 (2026)
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- Graphical abstract Highlights • Structural variations are diverse between wild buckwheat and landraces • The presence of FtRNH in wild accessions is associated with high-altitude adaptability • Structural variations in FtPLATZ are linked to seed-size variations • An ideal highland buckwheat is developed by integrating superior alleles Correspondence heyuqi@caas.cn (Y.H.), liuxu03@caas.cn (X.L.), rajeev.varshney@murdoch.edu.au (R.K.V.), liujq@nwipb.cas.cn (J.L.), zhoumeiliang@caas.cn (M.Z.) In brief A Tartary buckwheat pangenome is constructed, allowing identification of the wild-specific gene FtRNH conferring high-altitude adaptation, as well as FtPLATZ structural variants controlling seed size. By combining these superior alleles, buckwheat lines are developed with enhanced high-altitude adaptability and improved field yields. Himalayan Wild buckwheat Landrace High-altitude ideal buckwheat + +++ + ++ +++ +++ High-altitude Low-altitude PLATZ copy-number variation RNH RNH without RNH Himalayan Wild Low-altitude Landrace Himalayan Wild Low-altitude Landrace UV-B Cold 994 NGS resequenced accessions HW SL NL ZK3 Structural variation Pangenome Crop improvement
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Zhang, K., He, Y., Lin, H., He, J., Wang, Z., Li, W., Chen, Y., Li, J., Shi, Y., Huang, X., Ding, M., Yang, P., Chen, Z., Chitikineni, A., Li, J., Gao, J., Feng, B., Zhang, Z., Hao, M., et al. (2026). Pangenome-guided breeding restores high-altitude adaptation and improves yield in Tartary buckwheat. Cell, 189(17), 5214-5231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.035 (Original work published 2026)