Determination of the mode of reproduction of bahiagrass hybrids using cytoembryological analysis and molecular markers

Roberto Luis Weiler,Carine Simioni,Karine Cristina Krycki,Miguel Dall’Agnol,Nair Dahmer,Divanilde Guerra

doi:10.1590/s1806-92902017000300002

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the mode of reproduction of a hybrid progeny derived from intraspecific crosses of Paspalum notatum through cytoembryological analysis and use of RAPD (random amplification of polymorphic DNA) molecular markers. Cytoembryological analysis allowed identification of the mode of reproduction of 28 plants that were selected after agronomic productivity evaluations. Of these, 19 had embryo sac morphology compatible with an apomictic mode of reproduction and nine had embryo sac morphology compatible with a [...]

Highlights

Animal production based on native pastures figures prominently in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where it represents the dietary basis for this livestock
Molecular marker analysis for 194 individuals showed 54 sexual and 140 apomictic plants; of the 28 plants analyzed by the two methods, ten results (35.7%) were in disagreement
The BCU 243 marker showed a stable pattern of amplification, but some results differed with cytoembryological analyses, demonstrating that these analyses are more reliable when determining the mode of sexual reproduction for the plants of P. notatum

Summary

Introduction

Animal production based on native pastures figures prominently in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where it represents the dietary basis for this livestock. Among the grasses native to Brazil, the genus Paspalum L. is representative of various herbaceous ecosystems and is responsible for producing a large portion of the available forage; it is an important tool used for the production of beef cattle (Valls, 1980). In the genus Paspalum, there is a close correlation between ploidy level and mode of reproduction, in which diploidy is correlated with sexual reproduction and outcrossing and polyploidy is correlated with apomixis (Adamowski et al, 2005). The native germplasm of Paspalum notatum Flüggé is tetraploid and shows characteristics of apomictic lineages. In the ecotypes of P. notatum that have an apomictic mode of reproduction, female meiosis does not occur or is not functional. In “bahiagrass”, apomixis is aposporic and pseudogamous, in which embryo sac arises by mitotic division of a somatic cell of the embryo sac and endosperm develops by the union of a male nucleus of the pollen grain with the polar nuclei (Acuña et al, 2009)

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