Genetics and molecular mapping of the naked grains in hexaploid oat

Avena sativa L. subsp. nudisativa has the ability to produce naked grains. Genetic studies on the naked trait of oat began over a century ago, but the genetic and molecular factors associated with the expression of this trait have not been fully clarified. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the naked trait in two oat populations of recombinant inbred lines (RILs), to determine the number of genes, to estimate the heritability, and to map genomic regions associated with the naked trait in hexaploid oat. Parental lines and RILs of each population were screened for the naked trait from plants grown in the field over a 2 year period. Based on the phenotypic data, the oat RILs were classed as naked, partially naked, partially hulled and hulled. In both populations and years, a great number of RILs showed variable expressivity for the naked trait. The genetic analysis indicated the action of a major gene (N1) with the action of modifying genes controlling the formation of naked grains. The results of the estimate of heritability show that environmental conditions do not have a great influence in determining the naked trait. The quantitative trait loci analysis detected a genomic region with a large effect on the naked trait that explained more than 50% of the phenotypic variation. Further studies are needed to validate the use of these molecular markers to assist breeding programs to select high quality and stable naked oat cultivars.     

Evaluation of resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium graminearum</Emphasis> in oats

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a serious threat for the production of high-quality oats, a crop known for its health beneficial traits. The fungal pathogen, Fusarium graminearum, which is the main causal agent of FHB in cereals has become more common in the main oat production areas. FHB reduces yield quality due to the accumulation of several mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol. Strong environmental dependence of infection and variable causal agents make FHB only partly controllable by agricultural or manufacturing practices. This underlines the need for resistant cultivars. In recent years various improvements in the FHB resistance breeding of oats have been reported including improved inoculation and screening methods as well as resistance and association studies. This review demonstrates the current techniques used in the phenotyping of oats resistance to FHB. Resistance found in breeding material and gene bank accessions is described and several resistance related traits are discussed. In addition, an outlook to the future prospects of FHB resistance breeding in oats is provided.     

The structure and breeding behaviour of a translocation involving the transfer of mildew resistance from Avena barbata Pott. into the cultivated oat

Summary The gene for mildew resistance has been succesfully transferred into the cultivated oat from the wild oat species Avena barbata by means of an irradiation-induced translocation. The translocation has been shown to involve the long arm of chromosome ST21 of A. sativa, the short arm, the centromere and a segment of the long arm of the barbata chromosome.The transmission of the translocation is normal in the cultivar Manod in which it was originally isolated. When the translocation was transferred into other cultivars of oats, transmission through the male gametes was found to be impaired in some genotypic backgrounds. However, there was no evidence that the translocation had any deleterious effect on development and fertility in a range of cultivars.The translocation was shown to involve an exchange between nonhomoeologous chromosomes.The behaviour of the translocation in diverse genotypes indicated that the translocation was a new source of mildew resistance that could be easily used in a breeding programme.     

Performance of Avena sativa L./Avena fatua L. Backcross lines

Summary Although wild oats (Avena fatua L.) have been considered a potential source of genes for cultivated oat (Avena sativa L.) improvement, most progenies of A. sativa/A. fatua crosses have weak straw and are very susceptible to crown rust (Puccinia coronata CDA. var. avenae Fraser and Led.). Backcrossing to A. sativa has been suggested as a method of improving progeny lines while introducing new genes from wild oats to cultivated oats. In this study, A. sativa/A. fatua F₁ hybrids were backcrossed twice to A. sativa, and lines from three backcross populations were selected on the basis of agronomic performance in segregating generations. The A. sativa recurrent parents were Dal (tall and late) and Stout (short and early).Backcross lines and recurrent parents were evaluated in five performance trails from 1983 through 1985. There was significant variation among backcross lines for most traits, but most backcross lines did not produce higher grain and straw yields than their A. sativa parent. Several backcross lines were higher than their recurrent parent in test weight and groat percentage. A line derived from Stout, 175BC2-6, was considered the most promising backcross line in the study. This line produced more grain, had heavier kernels, and headed 3.3 days earlier than Stout. Although 175BC2-6 does not have sufficient straw strength and crown rust resistance to be released as a cultivar, it is considered to be a new source of high grain yield, high test weight and earliness for oat breeding.     

Molecular and comparative mapping for heading date and plant height in oat

Selection of oat genotypes combining earliness and short plant height could stimulate oat cultivation worldwide. However, the mechanisms involved with the genetic control of heading date and plant height traits are not fully understood to date. This study aimed to identify genomic regions controlling heading date and plant height in two hulled by naked oat populations and to compare these genomic regions with that of other grass species. Recombinant inbred lines of each population and their parents were genotyped by a 6 K BeadChip Illumina Infinium array and assessed for heading date and plant height in two sowing dates. The quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting these traits were detected by simple interval mapping. The two oat populations showed different genetic mechanisms controlling heading date. A major QTL was identified in one of the populations, mapped into the ‘Mrg33’ consensus linkage group from the current oat map. Two other QTL were detected into the ‘Mrg02’ and ‘Mrg24’ groups, in the second population. On the other hand, both populations presented the same genomic region controlling plant height. Six SNP markers, mapping on the same linkage group within each population, were associated with the trait, regardless the sowing date, explaining more than 20% of the phenotypic variation. Five of these six markers were mapped into three different linkage groups on the oat consensus map. Genomic regions associated with heading date and plant height in oat seem to be conserved in Oryza sativa L. and Brachypodium distachyon. Our results provide valuable information for marker-assisted selection in oats, allowing selection for earliness and plant height on early segregating generations.     

Morphological and molecular diversity of Nordic oat through one hundred years of breeding

Summary Genetic diversity in microsatellites and development of agronomical characters in Nordic oat cultivars (Avena sativa) from the 20th century, ranging from landraces to new cultivars, were studied. A clear development in agronomical characters has taken place in this period: Straw length has been reduced, harvest index has increased and heading date has declined. The persistent oat breeding effort in the northern part of the region was indicated by the data, since cultivars from this region showed higher harvest index. Also adaptation to shorter summers was apparent in cultivars from the most northern part of the area. When comparing cultivars released after 1940 to the landraces, the loss of diversity revealed for the agronomical characters was also indicated by the molecular data. This indicates that a more general loss of diversity has taken place in the period, possibly due to random factors during the breeding process (bottleneck effect). The reduction in diversity revealed by recent cultivars at an agronomical as well as a molecular level emphasises the importance of implementing a conservation strategy for older material in order to secure genetic diversity for future oat breeding efforts.     

Genetic studies of resistance to the cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae) in oats (Avena spp.)

Summary Genetic analysis of cereal cyst nematode resistance in three genotypes of oats indicates that resistance in Avena sterilis I.376 is controlled by two dominant genes and in A. sativa cv. Mortgage Lifter by two recessive genes. Resistance in A. byzantina P.I. 175021 is dominant and monogenic, and is probably at a locus distinct from the resistance loci in the other two genotypes.     

Combining ability analysis of resistance to head blight caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium graminearum</Emphasis> in spring wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium spp. is one of the most important fungal diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in regions with wet climatic conditions. Improvement of the FHB resistance by developing new varieties requires sound knowledge on the inheritance of resistance. An 8 × 8 diallel analysis was performed to estimate general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability of resistance to FHB. The F₁s and parental lines were evaluated under artificial inoculation at the experimental field of IFA-Tulln, Austria during 2001 and 2002. Disease severity was evaluated by repeated scoring of the percentage of infected spikelets and calculating an area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). The analysis of combining ability across two years showed highly significant GCA and non-significant SCA effects indicating the importance of additive genetic components in controlling FHB resistance. The significant GCA-by-year interaction presented the role of environmental factors in influencing the FHB reaction of wheat lines. The comparison of the crosses with low FHB infection and GCA effects of their parents showed that such crosses involved at least one parent with high or average negative GCA effect. The results revealed that it is feasible to use highly or moderately resistant genotypes and conventional breeding methods to achieve genetic improvement of FHB resistance in spring wheat.     

Genetic variation and associations involving Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol accumulation in cultivated oat (Avena sativa L.)

Resistance in oats (Avena sativa L.) to Fusarium graminearum was phenotyped in 424 spring oat lines from North America and Scandinavia and genotyped with 2974 SNP markers. Fusarium head blight (FHB), deoxynivalenol (DON) content, days to flowering (DTF) and days to yellow maturity (DTM) were scored in field trials in 2011–12. Trials with phenotypic ranges from 1 to 30 ppm, and sufficient accuracy were obtained by an augmented design and spawn inoculation. Discriminant analysis–PCA identified the different gene pools, with overlaps corresponding to known pedigrees and germplasm exchanges. Structure was negligible and GWAS (genomewide association study) was done using mixed linear models in TASSEL or partial least‐squares regression (PLSR). PLSR allows simultaneous analyses of several phenotypes (environments and/or traits) and is a promising tool for GWAS in plants and should be tested in species with sequenced genomes. FHB was associated with phenology QTLs, due to very susceptible early lines from the Midwest. Lines with consistently low DON (and early heading) were identified. Six QTLs for DON were not associated with earliness, including three QTLs reported previously.     

Haplotype structure around the nud locus in barley and its association with resistance to leaf stripe (Pyrenophora graminea)

The naked/hulled kernel trait is controlled in barley by a single gene called nud, on chromosome 7H. The first aim of this work was use bulked segregant analysis to find, new PCR‐based markers linked to nud for marker‐assisted selection (MAS). A new SCAR marker (sJ14) was developed, which is useful for introgressing the naked trait. This, and three other SCARs, were placed on the ‘Proctor’ × ‘Nudinka’ map to detail a 0.9‐cM fragment tagging nud. In order to evaluate the haplotypes around the nud locus, a phenotypically differentiated collection of naked/hulled genotypes was characterized by means of the above markers. Eight different marker haplotypes were found in the breeding germplasm, and a new allele for the marker sKT7 was found. The same barley collection has been surveyed for resistance/susceptibility to leaf stripe (Pyrenophora graminea), in order to investigate any possible association between this and other traits. The naked/hulled seed trait was not associated with resistance/susceptibility to the fungus.     

裸燕麦核心种质的抗氧化特性

为了解裸燕麦种质资源的抗氧化特性及其抗氧化作用的物质基础,选用和检测了120份国内外裸燕麦种质。其DPPH清除能力及总酚、生物碱和β-葡聚糖含量的变幅分别为4.34~179.98 mg L^-1、250.99~807.88 mg kg^-1、25.21~347.55 mg kg^-1和0.59%~9.69%,表现出明显的基因型差异,不同来源地和不同种质类型裸燕麦的抗氧化能力和生物碱含量差异较大。采用K-mean cluster快速聚类法将其聚为6大类群,分别由20、39、2、22、12和25份种质组成。燕麦籽粒抗氧化能力与其总酚、生物碱含量呈极显著(P＜0.01)正相关,但与β-葡聚糖含量无显著相关性。表明裸燕麦抗氧化能力与其籽粒中所含的总酚和生物碱类物质密切相关。本研究还筛选出一批高抗氧化的燕麦种质资源,有望用于高抗氧化性燕麦品种的培育。     

Changes in Several Traits of Oats Caused by Selection for Vegetative Growth Rate*

Growth rate and harvest index are the primary components that cause variation in gram yield or oats it growth duration of the crop is fixed as it is in mid western USA. Because harvest index for oats in that region has been optimized 45 %, growth rate is the only remaining trait for improving grain yield. F₂ derived oat lines from inter- (Avena sativa L. ×A. Sterilis L.) and intraspecific mating (among A. sativa cultivars) in F₃ were selected for vegetative growth rate at maturity (GRM) with an intensity of 8.3%. Predicted genetic gain was 21.5% for GRM, and actual gain was 7%. Changes in grain, biological, and straw yields were higher than gains in GRM when expressed as percentages of the oat population means. Predicted genetic gains were very low for traits unrelated or negatively associated with GRM such as heading data and harvest index. This study suggests that indirect improvement can be made for gain, biological, and straw yields by selecting for GRM.     

Comparison of rye,triticale, durum wheat and bread wheat genotypes for Fusarium head blight resistance and deoxynivalenol contamination

Small-grain winter cereal crops can be infected with Fusarium head blight (FHB) leading to mycotoxin contamination and reduction in grain weight and quality. Although a number of studies have investigated the genetic variation of genotypes within each small-grain cereal, a systematic comparison of the winter crops rye, triticale, durum and bread wheat for their FHB resistance, Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) and deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination across species is still missing. We have therefore evaluated twelve genotypes each of four crops widely varying in their FHB resistance under artificial infection with one DON-producing F. culmorum isolate at constant spore concentrations and additionally at crop-specific concentrations in two environments. Rye and triticale were the most resistant crops to FHB followed by bread and durum wheat at constant and crop-specific spore concentrations. On average, rye accumulated the lowest amount of DON (10.08 mg/kg) in the grains, followed by triticale (15.18 mg/kg) and bread wheat (16.59 mg/kg), while durum wheat had the highest amount (30.68 mg/kg). Genotypic variances within crops were significant (p ≤ .001) in most instances. These results underline the differing importance of breeding for FHB resistance in the different crops.     

The introgression of characters of the wild oat Avena magna (2n=4x=28) into the cultivated oat A. sativa (2n=6x=42)

Summary A study of derivatives from the hybrid Avena sativa × A. magna backcrossed to A. sativa clearly indicate that it is possible to introduce characters of the wild oat into the cultivated oat. Progeny with improved grain characters and crude protein content of the groat have been isolated and their use as breeding material is discussed.     

裸燕麦品质资源AFLP标记遗传多样性分析

用20对AFLP引物组合对281份栽培裸燕麦(Avena nuda)进行遗传多样性分析,共得到1 137条带,其中260条为多态性带,引物的平均多态性百分率为22.96%,平均多样性信息指数(PIC)为0.0326。以地理来源分组,不同来源的组群Simpson指数在1.235~1.495之间,Shannon指数范围为0.1558~0.4437,组群内变异贡献率为83.45%,组群间变异占16.55%。组群大小与多态性位点数、组群内变异贡献率、Simpson指数及Shannon指数显著相关。内蒙古和山西资源多样性丰富,东北地区资源独特,西部地区资源遗传结构单一,东欧组群与内蒙古组群遗传关系最近。国内组群的遗传多样性水平高于国外组群。地方品种与育成品种相比,组群内变异贡献率较高。建议在遗传多样性丰富地区进一步收集裸燕麦资源,并加强对材料少、代表性较差的地区,如西北和西南地区的裸燕麦地方品种的收集,以丰富我国的裸燕麦基因源。     

燕麦产量形成生理机制研究进展

燕麦是我国北方重要的粮饲兼用作物。低产是制约燕麦产业健康稳定发展的主要问题。本文从燕麦小穗多花多粒特性、小穗不孕性和抗倒伏性能等角度分析了燕麦产量形成的主要特征;并从产量构成因素、光合生产性能和源库关系等方面系统梳理和总结了燕麦产量形成的生理机制研究进展,比较了皮燕麦和裸燕麦产量形成的生理学差异,提出了提高燕麦产量的技术途径。     

Variation of grain iron content in a local upland rice germplasm from the village of Huai Tee Cha in northern Thailand

Crown rust caused by Puccinia coronata Cda. f. sp. avenae Eriks., is a major fungal disease of cultivated oats (Avena sativa L.) in Tunisia. Six landrace oats (M_tK₂, JT₅, BJ₃₅, GT₁, ZN₃ and JT₀) locally collected and previously screened for their relative oat crown rust resistance were used in this experiment. These accessions were evaluated during a two cropping season in field plots under heavy natural oat crown rust infection. Assessment criteria to crown rust reactions were AUDPC, latent period, uredinia size and number of uredinia per cm² of infected leaf area. Principal components analysis showed that the variables were grouped in two components. These two principal components explained 83.56% of the total variance. The projection of the point-cloud representing the populations on the plan formed by the principal components ‘Fact 1’ (63.83%), in abscissa, and ‘Fact 2’ (19.73%) in ordinate, permitted to distribute the accessions in several groups. Three landrace oats (M_tK₂, JT₅, and JT₀) showed the lowest value of all the components used. These landrace oats might be good sources of effective and durable resistance to crown rust.     

Partial resistance to a Fusarium root disease in Egyptian white lupin landraces

A Fusarium sp. root pathogen of lupin is the causal agent of the most important disease that affects the cultivation of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) in Egypt. The aim of our research was to investigate whether host resistance to Fusariumroot disease was available in Egyptian landraces ofLupinus albus. Five Fusarium isolates collected from white lupin samples in Egypt were tested with an Egyptian landrace and a French cultivar. The most aggressive isolate was used to screen an additional 15 Egyptian landraces, two cultivars released in Egypt after selection among landraces, one Polish cultivar, and two French cultivars. The assessment of host response to Fusarium was performed in a field, and under controlled conditions in a greenhouse pot experiment. Most landraces and the two Egyptian cultivars showed better resistance with good accordance between field and pot experiment. This experiment showed that Egyptian genetic resources of white lupin possess partial resistance to Fusarium root rot. Egyptian germplasm may be an alternative genetic source for incorporating partial resistance to Fusarium root rot into the breeding pools. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

江淮地区燕麦籽粒产量与农艺性状的相关性及通径分析

为了研究江淮地区燕麦籽粒生产的影响因素,选取了13个皮燕麦种质和7个裸燕麦种质,对其12个主要农艺性状和籽粒产量进行了相关性分析和通径分析。结果表明,12个农艺性状与皮燕麦籽粒产量的相关性大小依次为分蘖数>茎叶比>株高>茎粗>千粒重>穗长>旗叶宽>轮层数>小花数>穗鲜重>旗叶长>小穗数;对逐步回归分析筛选出的6个农艺性状和皮燕麦籽粒产量做通径分析,其直接效应依次为茎粗>分蘖数>茎叶比>穗长>株高>千粒重,株高和千粒重为负效应。农艺性状与裸燕麦籽粒产量相关性依次为小花数>旗叶长>小穗数>茎粗>穗长>分蘖数>穗鲜重>株高>轮层数>旗叶宽>茎叶比>千粒重;进行通径分析后,直接效应大小为穗鲜重>穗长>茎粗>小穗数>小花数>旗叶长>分蘖数,旗叶长和分蘖数为负效应。综合考虑,皮燕麦籽粒丰产的关键在于增加单株分蘖数;裸燕麦的生产过程中则要选择小穗性状优良、小花数适中的品种。     

Combining different resistance components enhances resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> head blight in spring wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease in wheat throughout the world. FHB resistance consists of two components: resistance to initial infection (type I) and resistance to spread within infected spikes (type II). Current wheat breeding programs for FHB focus on type II resistance, which limits pathogen spread but may not be sufficiently durable. To combine type I with existing type II resistance, 113 F₉-derived recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were developed from a cross between three wheat genotypes Frontana, W9207, and Alsen. The RILs were evaluated for resistance to initial infection, FHB spread within spike, kernel damage, and deoxynivalenol (DON) content in two independent greenhouse experiments in 2006 and 2007. Among the 113 RILs, 20% lines showed ≤10% initial disease severity (IDS) and ≤11 to 30% final disease severity (FDS), and 19% had DON content ≤5 μg/g. Approximately 11% of the RILs showed tendency of higher resistance (as exhibited by lower IDS, FDS, and DON content) than the resistant parents. The 42 of the FHB-resistant RILs were analyzed with seven simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers or microsatellites known to be linked to FHB resistance. Approximately half of the RILs had molecular markers linked to both types of FHB resistance indicated the presence of type I and II resistance alleles in the RILs. The resistant RILs identified in this study should be useful for the future improvement of FHB resistance in spring wheat.