History of the progressive development of genetic marker systems for common buckwheat

Genotyping is an essential procedure for identifying agronomically useful genes and analyzing population structure. Various types of genetic marker systems have been developed in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). In the 1980s, morphological and allozyme markers were used to construct linkage maps. Until the early 2000s, allozyme markers were widely used in population genetics studies. Such studies demonstrated that cultivated common buckwheat likely originated in the Sanjiang area of China. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, advances in PCR technology led to the development of various DNA marker systems for use in linkage mapping. However, PCR-based markers did not completely cover the genome, making genetic analysis of buckwheat challenging. The subsequent development of next generation sequencing, a game-changing technology, has allowed genome-wide analysis to be performed for many species. Indeed, 8,884 markers spanning 756 loci were recently mapped onto eight linkage groups of common buckwheat; these markers were successfully used for genomic selection to increase yield. Furthermore, draft genome sequences are now available in the Buckwheat Genome DataBase (BGDB). In this review, I summarize advances in the breeding and genetic analysis of common buckwheat based on contemporary genetic marker systems.