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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Plant Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #137103
Title: AFLP MARKERS TIGHTLY LINKED TO THE ALUMINUM TOLERANCE GENE ALT3 IN RYE (SECALE CEREALE L)

Author
item MIFTAHUDIN - UNIV OF MISSOURI
item SCOLES, G - UNIV OF SASKATCHEWAN
item Gustafson, J

Submitted to: Theoretical and Applied Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2002
Publication Date: 3/1/2002
Citation: MIFTAHUDIN, SCOLES, G.J., GUSTAFSON, J.P. AFLP MARKERS TIGHTLY LINKED TO THE ALUMINUM TOLERANCE GENE ALT3 IN RYE (SECALE CEREALE L). THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. 2002. V. 104(4). P. 626-631.

Interpretive Summary: Aluminum, the most abundant metal on earth, is highly toxic to plant growth. There are about 2.5 billion hectares of acid soils high in aluminum around the world, including several million in the United States. The present study was designed to map the location of the gene(s) controlling aluminum tolerance in rye and establish molecular markers flanking the gene(s). These molecular markers linked to the rye aluminum genes would be of considerable value in a marker-mediated alien gene introgression breeding program designed to improve the aluminum tolerance levels existing in wheat using genes from rye. We mapped the major gene in rye to the long arm of chromosome 4R and established molecular markers flanking the gene. We also physically mapped the gene to a region on the long arm of chromosome 4R. These results will benefit geneticists and breeders attempting to clone the rye gene for aluminum tolerance and manipulate it into wheat for improved wheat production on acid soils.

Technical Abstract: Rye (Secale cereale L.) is considered to be the most aluminum (Al) tolerant species among the Triticeae. It has been suggested that aluminum tolerance in rye is controlled by three major genes (Alt genes) located on rye chromosome arms 6RS (Alt1), 3RL (Alt2), and 4RL (Alt3). Screening of an F6 rye recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the cross between an Al-tolerant rye (M39A-1-6) and an Al-sensitive rye (M77A-1) indicated that a single gene (Alt) controls aluminum tolerance in the population. In order to identify molecular markers tightly linked to the gene, we used a combination of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and bulked segregant analysis techniques to evaluate the F6 rye RIL population. We analyzed approximately 22,500 selectively amplified DNA fragments using 204 primer combinations and identified three AFLP markers tightly linked to the Alt gene. Two of these markers were 0.4 cM from the Alt locus and the other one was on the other side of the gene at a distance of 0.7 cM. Chromosomal localization using the cloned AFLP marker and an restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) marker indicated that the gene was on the long arm of rye chromosome 4. The RFLP marker (BCD1230) co-segregated with the Alt gene. The gene was designated as Alt3. These markers are being used as a starting point in the construction of a high-resolution map of the Alt3 region in rye.