Trait characterization of genetic resources reveals useful variation for the improvement of cultivated Nordic red clover

Zanotto, Stefano; Palmé, Anna; Helgadóttir, Á.; Daugstad, Kristin; Isolahti, Mika; Öhlund, Linda; Marum, P.; Moen, Maria Ahlin; Veteläinen, Merja; Rognli, Odd Arne; Ergon, Åshild

doi:10.1111/jac.12487

Cited by 15 publications

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“…The present study revealed that cultivated red clover showed a greater tendency to cluster together with wild populations found in the warmer climates of the south and central parts of the Nordic Region with low levels of variation in precipitation and temperature and little to no snow cover. One of the main causes of red clover senescence is repeated freezing and thawing ( Smith, 1957 ; Zanotto et al., 2021 ). However, such information is difficult to model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering candidate SNPs for resilience breeding of red clover

et al. 2022

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Red clover is a highly valuable crop for the ruminant industry in the temperate regions worldwide. It also provides multiple environmental services, such as contribution to increased soil fertility and reduced soil erosion. This study used 661 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers via targeted sequencing using seqSNP, to describe genetic diversity and population structure in 382 red clover accessions. The accessions were selected from NordGen representing red clover germplasm from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark as well as from Lantmännen, a Swedish seed company. Each accession was represented by 10 individuals, which was sequenced as a pool. The mean Nei’s standard genetic distance between the accessions and genetic variation within accessions were 0.032 and 0.18, respectively. The majority of the accessions had negative Tajima’s D, suggesting that they contain significant proportions of rare alleles. A pairwise FST revealed high genetic similarity between the different cultivated types, while the wild populations were divergent. Unlike wild populations, which exhibited genetic differentiation, there was no clear differentiation among all cultivated types. A principal coordinate analysis revealed that the first principal coordinate, distinguished most of the wild populations from the cultivated types, in agreement with the results obtained using a discriminant analysis of principal components and cluster analysis. Accessions of wild populations and landraces collected from southern and central Scandinavia showed a higher genetic similarity to Lantmännen accessios. It is therefore possible to link the diversity of the environments where wild populations were collected to the genetic diversity of the cultivated and wild gene pools. Additionally, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models revealed associations between variation in temperature and precipitation and SNPs within genes controlling stomatal opening. Temperature was also related to kinase proteins, which are known to regulate plant response to temperature stress. Furthermore, the variation between wild populations and cultivars was correlated with SNPs within genes regulating root development. Overall, this study comprehensively investigated Nordic European red clover germplasm, and the results provide forage breeders with valuable information for further selection and development of red clover cultivars.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering candidate SNPs for resilience breeding of red clover

et al. 2022

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“…While some studies have investigated the variability and inheritance of specific traits such as disease resistance (Frey et al, 2022), seed yield (Herrmann et al, 2005) or flowering time (Jones et al, 2020), only a few studies have investigated phenotypic diversity of several traits within a region or country and even fewer have studied diversity across regions. A study by Zanotto et al (2021) that was conducted with 48 ecotypes and six cultivars from Norway, Sweden, and Finland found large variation in winter survival and yield between the accessions. Wild accessions sometimes outperformed commercial cultivars, indicating their value for improving adaptation to colder climates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-location trials and population-based genotyping reveal high diversity and adaptation to breeding environments in a large collection of red clover

Nay

Grieder

Frey

et al. 2022

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Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is an outcrossing forage legume that has adapted to a wide range of climatic and growing conditions across Europe. Red clover is valued for its high yield potential and forage quality. The high amount of genetic diversity present in red clover provides an invaluable, but often poorly characterized resource to improve key traits such as yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we examined the genetic and phenotypic diversity within a diverse set of 395 diploid red clover accessions via genome wide allele frequency fingerprinting and multi-location field trials across Europe. We found that the genetic structure of accessions mostly reflected their geographic origin and only few cases were detected, where breeders integrated foreign genetic resources into their local breeding pools. Phenotypic performance of accessions in the multi-location field trials revealed a very high accession x location interaction. Thereby, breeding material and cultivars generally performed well at the location where they were developed. Local adaptation was especially prominent in Nordic red clover accessions that showed a distinct adaptation to the growing conditions and cutting regime of the North. Our results confirmed that red clover cultivars were bred from regional ecotypes and show a narrow adaptation to regional conditions. Our study can serve as a valuable basis for identifying interesting material that express the desired characteristics and contribute to the adaptation of red clover to future climatic conditions.

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“…Clover rot, caused by the ascomycete Sclerotinia trifoliorum Eriks., is favored by cooler temperatures, high humidity and long snow cover, and can lead to severe overwintering damage (Saharan and Mehta, 2008). Freezing tolerance is associated with winter survival and is particularly pronounced in wild populations from northern regions (Zanotto et al, 2021). In the warmer climates of Central Europe, persistence is an important breeding target with the specific aim to extend the period of cultivation for red clover cultivars over several growing seasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While some studies have investigated the variability and inheritance of specific traits such as disease resistance (Frey et al, 2022), seed yield (Herrmann et al, 2005) or flowering time (Jones et al, 2020), only a few studies have investigated phenotypic diversity of several traits within a region or country and even fewer have studied diversity across regions. A study by Zanotto et al (2021) that was conducted with 48 ecotypes and six cultivars from Norway, Sweden, and Finland found large variation in winter survival and yield between red clover accessions. Wild accessions sometimes outperformed commercial cultivars, indicating their value for improving adaptation to colder climates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-location trials and population-based genotyping reveal high diversity and adaptation to breeding environments in a large collection of red clover

Nay

Grieder²,

Frey³

et al. 2023

Front. Plant Sci.

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Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is an outcrossing forage legume that has adapted to a wide range of climatic and growing conditions across Europe. Red clover is valued for its high yield potential and its forage quality. The high amount of genetic diversity present in red clover provides an invaluable, but often poorly characterized resource to improve key traits such as yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we examined the genetic and phenotypic diversity within a diverse set of 395 diploid red clover accessions via genome wide allele frequency fingerprinting and multi-location field trials across Europe. We found that the genetic structure of accessions mostly reflected their geographic origin and only few cases were detected, where breeders integrated foreign genetic resources into their local breeding pools. The mean dry matter yield of the first main harvesting season ranged from 0.74 kg m-2 in Serbia and Norway to 1.34 kg m-2 in Switzerland. Phenotypic performance of accessions in the multi-location field trials revealed a very strong accession x location interaction. Local adaptation was especially prominent in Nordic red clover accessions that showed a distinct adaptation to the growing conditions and cutting regime of the North. The traits vigor, dry matter yield and plant density were negatively correlated between the trial location in Norway and the locations Great Britain, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Serbia. Notably, breeding material and cultivars generally performed well at the location where they were developed. Our results confirmed that red clover cultivars were bred from regional ecotypes and show a narrow adaptation to regional conditions. Our study can serve as a valuable basis for identifying interesting materials that express the desired characteristics and contribute to the adaptation of red clover to future climatic conditions.

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Trait characterization of genetic resources reveals useful variation for the improvement of cultivated Nordic red clover

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Cited by 15 publications

References 45 publications

Discovering candidate SNPs for resilience breeding of red clover

Discovering candidate SNPs for resilience breeding of red clover

Multi-location trials and population-based genotyping reveal high diversity and adaptation to breeding environments in a large collection of red clover

Multi-location trials and population-based genotyping reveal high diversity and adaptation to breeding environments in a large collection of red clover

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