Advance in origin and classification of genus Arachis and progenitor of cultivated peanut (A. hypogaea L.).

It has important significance on improving cultivated peanut varieties and expending its genetic basis with wild species through knowing about the origin and classification of genus Arachis and the progenitor of wild species for cultivated peanut.Peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important crop for edible oil and protein.At present,80 species of the genus Arachis have been identified and are divided into nine sections.The Arachis section includes the cultivated peanut(A.hypogaea L.) and other 30 wild species,and cultivated peanut can be only crossed and compatible with all wild species in the Arachis section.The phylogenetic relationships of interspecies in the genus Arachis has been studied deeply through interspecies cross,cytology and modern biotechnologies such as molecular markers,and the consistent result is that A.duranensis and A.ipaёnsis are the most probable progenitors of the cultivated peanut.It proposed that one of the important studies is to improve the cultivated peanut and get new germplasm through utilizing the Arachis wild species by various ways.