The oat gene pools – review about the use of wild species in improving cultivated oat

Abstract

The search for agronomic traits and the use of new sources of variability in oat farming is very important in terms of breeding. Wild species of Avena are grouped into three gene pools depending on their interfertility with cultivated hexaploid oat. The primary and tertiary gene pools are extensive and diverse, the secondary gene pool is relatively small and poorly represented in ex situ gene banks. Appropriate wild species are a valuable source of many appropriate traits such as: high protein, oil, ß-glucan and balanced amino acids composition contents in grain; short culm; cold and drought tolerance. Moreover, they are a source of resistance genes for oat diseases, such as: powdery mildew, crown and stem rust, smuts or barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). Note, however transfer of genes from wild to cultivated species is a long and laborious process. These types of methods are used in the species Avena with various end effects. The purpose of this article is to collect information on attempts of transferring different genes from wild oat species to cultivated oats.

The comparison of polymorphism among Avena species revealed by retrotransposon-based DNA markers and soluble carbohydrates in seeds

“…fatua, A. sterilis, A. ludovicina, A. occidentalis;Trofimovskaya et al, 1976;Frey 1991;Miller et al 1993;Loskutov et al 2021) as well as protein content in straw and green matter (e.g., A. abyssinica, A. magna, A. ludovicina, A. sterilis;Mal 1987;Rezai 1977;Loskutov and Rines 2011;Ociepa 2019). Wild Avena species can be used also to improve the cultivated forms of oat in terms of disease and pathogen resistance, earliness, or highly productive tillering (Marshal and Shaner 1992; Leonard et al 2004;Okoń et al 2016Okoń et al , 2018Gordon et al 2022).…”

“…However, despite intensive efforts which have been made to describe the genetic diversity and perform biochemical characteristics of particular collections, representing existing gene pools of cultivated oats, we are still lacking their comprehensive characterization. Currently, available literature shows that many wild and weedy Avena species can be used in breeding programs as donors of many valuable traits which enable the increase of the yield and grain quality (e.g., A. fatua , A. sterilis , A. ludovicina , A. occidentalis ; Trofimovskaya et al, 1976 ; Frey 1991 ; Miller et al 1993 ; Loskutov et al 2021 ) as well as protein content in straw and green matter (e.g., A. abyssinica , A. magna , A. ludovicina , A. sterilis ; Mal 1987 ; Rezai 1977 ; Loskutov and Rines 2011 ; Ociepa 2019 ). Wild Avena species can be used also to improve the cultivated forms of oat in terms of disease and pathogen resistance, earliness, or highly productive tillering (Marshal and Shaner 1992 ; Leonard et al 2004 ; Okoń et al 2016 , 2018 ; Gordon et al 2022 ).…”

Progenitor species hold untapped diversity for potential climate-responsive traits for use in wheat breeding and crop improvement

“…For major cereals such as rice and barley, there are already examples of the successful introgression of traits linked to climate change adaptions such as drought tolerance (Talame et al 2004 ; Zhang et al 2006 ) and flowering traits (Ishimaru et al 2010 ; Wiegmann et al 2019 ). For minor cereal grain crops there are few confirmed examples to date, e.g., sorghum (reviewed in (Ananda et al 2020 )), pearl millet (reviewed in (Sharma et al 2020 )), finger millet (blast resistance (Akech et al 2016 )), oats (reviewed in (Ociepa 2019 )) and rye (plant height and yield (Falke et al 2009 )), indicating that allocating resources to the exploration of diversity within progenitors and wild relatives would reveal further useful adaptations that could improve the resilience of these crops to changing climates. Examples of monocot crops, their progenitor species and breeding priorities linked to changing climates are shown in Table 1 .…”

“…verticilliflorum Cold, drought, heat Ananda et al 2020 Pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum ) P. glaucum subsp. monodii Drought and heat Sharma et al 2020 Oats ( Avena sativa ) A. ventricosa, A. longiglumis, A. insularis, A. canariensis and A. agadiriana Cold, drought and heat, C4 photosynthesis Covshoff and Hibberd 2012 ; Ociepa 2019 Rye ( Secale cereale ) S. cereale subsp . vavilovii Drought and heat, C4 photosynthesis Covshoff and Hibberd 2012 ; Miedaner and Laidig 2019 Finger millet ( Eleusine coracana) E. coracana subsp.…”