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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Forage and Range Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #288745
Title: A search for candidate genes affecting late heading to orchardgrass/cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.)

Author
item XIE, WENGANG - Sichuan Institute
item Bushman, Shaun
item Robins, Joseph

Submitted to: International Symposium of Molecular Breeding of Forage Turf
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2012
Publication Date: 12/1/2012
Citation: Xie, W., Bushman, B.S., Robins, J.G. 2012. A search for candidate genes affecting late heading to orchardgrass/cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.). Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on the Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf, Salt Lake City, UT. International Symposium of Molecular Breeding of Forage Turf.

Interpretive Summary: Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is indigenous to Eurasia and northern Africa, but has been naturalized on nearly every continent. Despite its distribution and uses, there is a need for improved late flowering germplasm for use in North American mixed pastures. Many candidate genes affecting heading date exist in cereal grasses, including vernalization (Vrn) (Dubcovsky et al. 2005; Karsai et al. 2008), flowering time (Ft) (Skot et al. 2011), and heading date (Hd) genes (Nemoto et al. 2003; Skot et al. 2007). An F1 population derived from a very late heading D. glomerata ssp. himalayensis parent and an early to mid-heading D. glomerata ssp. aschersoniana parent was previously published (Xie et al. 2012), wherein heading dates were measured over two years and individuals were genotyped using a combination of EST-derived SSR markers and AFLP markers. Six of the seven orchardgrass linkage groups were assigned based on this putative synteny with rice, and QTL were detected for heading date on linkage groups 2, 5, and 6 in both parental maps. This paper describes an effort to map the three candidate genes listed above in this mapping population, to determine if any of them coincide with heading date QTLs.

Technical Abstract: Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is indigenous to Eurasia and northern Africa, but has been naturalized on nearly every continent. Despite its distribution and uses, there is a need for improved late flowering germplasm for use in North American mixed pastures. Many candidate genes affecting heading date exist in cereal grasses, including vernalization (Vrn) (Dubcovsky et al. 2005; Karsai et al. 2008), flowering time (Ft) (Skot et al. 2011), and heading date (Hd) genes (Nemoto et al. 2003; Skot et al. 2007). An F1 population derived from a very late heading D. glomerata ssp. himalayensis parent and an early to mid-heading D. glomerata ssp. aschersoniana parent was previously published (Xie et al., 2012), wherein heading dates were measured over two years and individuals were genotyped using a combination of EST-derived SSR markers and AFLP markers. Six of the seven orchardgrass linkage groups were assigned based on this putative synteny with rice, and QTL were detected for heading date on linkage groups 2, 5, and 6 in both parental maps. This paper describes an effort to map the three candidate genes listed above in this mapping population, to determine if any of them coincide with heading date QTLs.