Genetic diversity of Miscanthus sinensis in US naturalized populations

Abstract

Miscanthus is increasingly gaining popularity as a bioenergy grass because of its extremely high biomass productivity. Many clones of this grass were introduced into United States over the past century from East Asia where it originated, and planted for ornamental and landscaping purposes. An understanding of the genetic diversity among these naturalized populations may help in the efficient selection of potential parents in the Miscanthus breeding program. Here, we report our study analyzing the genetic diversity of 228 Miscanthus DNA samples selected from seven sites in six states (Ohio, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) across the eastern United States. Ten transferable DNA markers from other plant species were employed to amplify genomic DNA of Miscanthus because of the paucity of molecular markers in Miscanthus. There were significant genetic variations observed within and among US naturalized populations. The highest genetic diversity (0.3738) was found among the North Carolina genotypes taken from Biltmore Deer Park and Biltmore, Madison County, Cody Rd. The lowest genetic diversity (0.2776) was observed among Virginia genotypes that were diverged from those from other states, suggesting Virginia genotypes might be independently introduced into the United States from the different origin. By the cluster and structure analysis, 228 genotypes were categorized into two major groups that were further divided into six subgroups at the DNA level and the groups were generally consistent with geographic region.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Miscanthus lutarioriparius, an endemic plant of China

“…In this study, the mean of genetic diversity within each population was 0.32, which was similar to Chinese and U.S. M . sinensis although different markers were used in these study [23, 24, 64], and higher than previous measurements from cross-pollinated plants ( He = 0.162) and monocotyledons ( He = 0.181) [59, 65]. At the species level, the genetic diversity of M .…”

“…The greater similarity of populations among rather than within individuals indicated that these populations were probably founded by many individuals and that there were high levels of gene flow among populations. Cross-pollinated plants often show huge variation within populations and a lower level of variation between populations [24, 25, 63]. Genetic variation of US naturalized populations of M .…”

“…Genetic variation of US naturalized populations of M . sinensis within populations was substantially greater than between populations [24]. M .…”

Supply and value chain analysis of mixed biomass feedstock supply system for lignocellulosic sugar production

“…Structural composition was gathered from previous studies; and their conversion rates were obtained from NREL recent study …”

Identification and characterization of Miscanthus yellow fleck virus, a new polerovirus infecting Miscanthus sinensis

“…Miscanthus sinensis Andersson (Chinese silvergrass) is an herbaceous perennial grass native to Eastern Asia. It is naturalized in parts of the United States [ 1 ] and is currently being investigated for bioenergy [ 2 ] and sugarcane breeding purposes [ 3 ]. Miscanthus sinensis is susceptible to several diseases caused by viruses, including: sorghum mosaic virus [ 4 ], switchgrass mosaic virus [ 5 ], and barley yellow dwarf virus [ 6 , 7 ] and can also serve as a host to the aphid species Rhopalosiphum maidis [ 6 ].…”