Evolutionary history of Triticum petropavlovskyi Udacz. et Migusch. inferred from the sequences of the 3-phosphoglycerate kinase gene.

Single- and low-copy genes are less likely to be subject to concerted evolution. Thus, they are appropriate tools to study the origin and evolution of polyploidy plant taxa. The plastid 3-phosphoglycerate kinase gene (Pgk-1) sequences from 44 accessions of Triticum and Aegilops, representing diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid wheats, were used to estimate the origin of Triticum petropavlovskyi. Our phylogenetic analysis was carried out on exon+intron, exon and intron sequences, using maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference and haplotype networking. We found the D genome sequences of Pgk-1 genes from T. petropavlovskyi are similar to the D genome orthologs in T. aestivum, while their relationship with Ae. tauschii is more distant. The A genome sequences of T. petropavlovskyi group with those of T. polonicum, but its Pgk-1 B genome sequences to some extent diverge from those of other species of Triticum. Our data do not support for the origin of T. petropavlovskyi either as an independent allopolyploidization event between Ae. tauschii and T. polonicum, or as a monomendelian mutation in T. aestivum. We suggest that T. petropavlovskyi originated via spontaneous introgression from T. polonicum into T. aestivum. The dating of divergence among T. polonicum, T. petropavlovskyi, T. carthlicum, T. turgidum, and T. compactum indicates an age of 0.78 million years [corrected].