Genetic diversity of colonial bentgrass Agrostis capillaris based on simple sequence repeat markers and high‐resolution melt analysis with haplotype scoring

Abstract

Colonial bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris) is a tetraploid rhizomatous bentgrass that generally exhibits improved resistance to the important fungal disease dollar spot and has more tolerance to water-deficit stress than the more widely grown creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). Interspecific hybridization between these two species is possible and efforts to understand the genetic mechanisms of enhanced biotic and abiotic stress resistance in colonial bentgrass are proceeding. To gain a better understanding of the level of genetic diversity in cultivated colonial bentgrasses and to determine if genotypes with improved interspecific hybridization potential can be identified, nine colonial bentgrass cultivars and one creeping bentgrass cultivar were screened with 48 colonial bentgrass-derived simple sequence repeat markers.Twenty-one primer pairs were found to produce reliable amplification, and these markers were scored using high-resolution melt analysis to generate haplotypes that were used to evaluate cultivar relationships. The nine colonial bentgrass cultivars could be placed into two groups and overall showed limited levels of diversity. The creeping bentgrass cultivar was distinct and individual genotypes within each species exhibited haplotypes more common in the alternate species, suggesting that these markers may be useful for selecting genotypes with enhanced interspecific hybridization potential.

Arsenic uptake by Agrostis capillaris, as related to its genotypic diversity in the area of historical ore mining and processing

“…Genetic diversity analysis did not reveal significant differences between A. capillaris ecotypes from Złoty Stok and commercially available forms, either wild or breeding, indicating their high genetic similarity. Similarly, small differences were also presented by Warnke and Barnaby 42 . Genotypic similarity of commercially available A. capillaris and plants collected at various locations in the polluted areas may indicate that all, or almost all, populations of A. capillaris occurring in the studied areas of Złoty Stok have a common primary origin, which could have been the sowing of meadows in the Trująca stream valley and other grasslands located nearby.…”

“…It should be emphasized that the tolerance of ecotypes exposed to As may also be genetically conditioned and inherited 16 , 28 , 29 . Tolerant and intolerant ecotypes of plants may show differences in genome-wide expression and variation in nucleotide sequences 41 , 42 . Many transcription factors associated with different gene families are involved in coordinating arsenic responsive genes, contributing to stress signaling, arsenic-toxicity and arsenic-tolerance.…”