Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important row crop rich in oil, protein, vitamins and other micro-nutrients. The intensive selection of the cultigen, a cultivated plant deliberately altered by humans through cultivation, has resulted in favourable changes in yield and biochemical composition. Nevertheless, it has generated a narrow genetic basis that limits the development of new varieties with resistance to pests, diseases and environmental stresses. In this study, we address this limitation by characterizing the proximate and fatty acid composition of a multi-disease-resistant interspecific recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from three wild Arachis species and a cultivated elite peanut line that is being used to widen the genetic basis of the crop. The population was also genotyped with the Axiom Arachis 48K SNP array and used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for oil, protein content and oleic and linoleic fatty acid percentages. A wide range of proximate composition was found in the RIL population. Eighteen and 11 individuals had high oil and protein content, respectively, and no undesirable traits related to oil quality had been introduced into the population from wild species. The fatty acid composition of oleic and linoleic acids was found to be regulated by two major QTL. The discovery of markers within the major effect QTL for the most significant chemical traits provides new opportunities for the creation of resistant and extremely nutrient-dense peanut cultivars.

Milk thistle, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. (Asteraceae), is an economically important medicinal plant utilized for silymarin production. Moreover, the species has been positively evaluated for vegetable oil and biomass production. Despite these positive characteristics, milk thistle is still marked by traits that are typical of undomesticated species (most importantly natural fruit dispersal at maturity) and requires further genetic improvement for its complete exploitation. This manuscript summarizes all the information collected through time about a collection of nine milk thistle wild and mutant lines and it discusses the possible further utilization of these genotypes. The accessions are characterized by interesting traits related to: fruit silymarin composition (S. marianum chemotype A and B), fruit fatty acid composition (high oleic and high stearic acid lines), fruit condensed tannins content, vegetative biomass composition (modification of xylans or lignin content), vegetative biomass structure (dwarf and tall lines), modifications of leaf variegation (hypervareigated line) and different types of fruit shatter resistance at maturity. All the lines underwent subsequent generations of selfing and are stable for all the described traits. The accessions will be made available at the Genebank of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK, Gatersleben) and may prove to be a useful genetic material for the improvement of qualitative fruit traits (silymarin quality, fatty acid composition) and for the further development of shatter-resistant S. marianum genotypes towards the complete domestication of this promising species.