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Title: Analysis of EST Sequences Suggests Recent Origin of Allotetraploid Colonial and Creeping Bentgrasses

Author
item ROTTER, DAVID - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item BHARTI, ARVIND - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item LI, HUAIJUN - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item LUO, CHONGYUAN - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item BONOS, STACY - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item BUGHRARA, SULEIMAN - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
item JUNG, GEUNHWA - UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS
item MESSING, JOACHIM - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item MEYER, WILLIAM - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY
item RUDD, STEPHEN - TURKU CTR BIOTECH,FINLAND
item Warnke, Scott
item BELANGER, FAITH - RUTGERS, NEW JERSEY

Submitted to: Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/9/2007
Publication Date: 8/27/2007
Citation: Rotter, D., Bharti, A.K., Li, H.M., Luo, C., Bonos, S.A., Bughrara, S., Jung, G., Messing, J., Meyer, W.A., Rudd, S., Warnke, S.E., Belanger, F.C. 2007. Analysis of EST Sequences Suggests Recent Origin of Allotetraploid Colonial Creeping Bentgrass. Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 278:197-209.

Interpretive Summary: Creeping bentgrass is a turfgrass species commonly grown on golf courses in the United States. A fungal disease called dollar spot during the hot humid summer months commonly attacks creeping bentgrass. A related turfgrass species call colonial bentgrass typically has more resistance to dollar spot than creeping bentgrass. A study was conducted to look at genes that are active during infection by dollar spot. A total of 7,528 colonial and 8,470 creeping bentgrass genes were exhausted. Common gene information between these two species made it possible to estimate that the two species diverged from a common ancestor about 2.2 million years ago. This relatively recent origin of these two species means that gene transfer between the species may be possible.

Technical Abstract: Colonial bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris L.) and creeping bentgrass (A. stolonifera L.) are closely related turfgrass species used extensively on golf courses in temperate regions throughout the world. One of the major management problems for creeping bentgrass is the fungal disease dollar spot. Colonial bentgrass, however, generally has good resistance to dollar spot and may be a source of genes or alleles for improvement of creeping bentgrass. Here we report the generation of 7,528 and 8,470 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from colonial bentgrass and creeping bentgrass, respectively. This collection of ESTs represents a first step in a genomics approach to uncovering the responses of colonial and creeping bentgrasses to the dollar spot fungus. Both colonial and creeping bentgrass are allotetraploids and are considered to have one genome in common, designated the A2 genome. Analysis of conserved orthologous genes present among the ESTs was carried out to estimate the age of divergence of the subgenomes within and between the two species. This analysis suggests the colonial and creeping A2 genomes diverged from a common ancestor approximately 2.2 million years ago, which implies a recent origin of these two allotetraploid species.