Ecological characterization of supina bluegrass (Poa supina Schrad.) germplasm from the Italian Alps

Abstract

A collection was carried out in the Italian Alps to gather local genetic resources and acquire information on the ecological adaptation of supina bluegrass (Poa supina Schrad.), a cool-season grass native to the Alpine region in Europe. It has potential for pastures and a growing interest for turfs, owing to excellent traffic, shade and cold tolerance. Available germplasm for research and breeding is scant, and extensive collections are needed to enable further development of adapted materials. Alpine germplasm has already proved valuable for breeding at lower altitude in pioneering selection work carried out in Germany. Extensive exploration throughout different environments, mostly above 1600 m elevation, yielded fifty-five novel populations. Collections largely occurred in environments exposed to heavy disturbance by livestock, but it was also frequently found on very poor substrates along mountain paths and dirt roads, or around buildings. Some populations were present locally in shaded environments. Preliminary ex-situ observations indicated likely among-population variation to occur for important traits of breeding relevance such as disease and drought tolerance. Genetic variation for adaptive traits, although unproven, is hypothesized given the diversified habitats where the species was collected across the Italian Alps.

Characterization of Poa supina from the Italian Alps with AFLP Markers and Correlation with Climatic Variables

“…For both populations and composite samples, good genetic discrimination was generally realized, even with the relatively low number of markers utilized. The difference found with AMOVA between P. annua and supina bluegrass regenerated populations, and the extent of association of Supranova reference cultivar with Italian seed‐collected populations, indicated no mixing between P. annua and supina bluegrass, verifying our identification methods during the collection process (Pecetti et al, 2011). Not only did the populations from regenerated seed differ between collection sites, but there was also considerable within‐population variation, indicating that for this self‐pollinating species there was considerable genetic variability within accessions.…”

“…Those groups were predominantly composed of collections from the Aosta province. An additional difference in germplasm from this area was inferred in Pecetti et al (2011), reporting that collections from Aosta were more susceptible to ex situ epiphytotics of rust ( Puccinia sp.) than germplasm from other provenances.…”

“…Supina bluegrass was collected during the last week of June and the first week of July 2008 through a joint project between the USDA‐ARS and the Centro di Ricerca per le Produzioni Foraggere e Lattiero‐Casearie (CRA‐FLC), Lodi, Italy (Pecetti et al, 2011). The collection team visited diverse locations in the northeastern, central, and northwestern Alps (Table 1, Fig.…”

“…These environments consist of mountain rangelands and often include a series of more or less simple buildings for sheltering the animals at night and other operations, such as milking and cheese curing. Supina bluegrass is typically found in areas that are subjected to trampling and are rich in nitrogen from animal excretions, such as around the watering places and the night shelters (Pecetti et al, 2011).…”

“…Yet, as far as we know, there are no studies of molecular variation for supina bluegrass germplasm, and none with amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), a highly reproducible and efficient marker system for genotyping (Mueller and Wolfenbarger, 1999). A collection of supina bluegrass was completed in the Italian Alps in 2008 from the eastern, central, and western Alpine regions (Pecetti et al, 2011). Using this collection, our objectives were to characterize AFLP‐marker variation for collection locations and determine correlations between climatic variables and marker attributes.…”