DNA-Based Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Grassland Plant Species: Challenges, Approaches, and Applications

Abstract

Grasslands are wide-spread, multi-species ecosystems that provide many valuable services. Plant genetic diversity (i.e., the diversity within species) is closely linked to ecosystem functioning in grasslands and constitutes an important reservoir of genetic resources that can be used to breed improved cultivars of forage grass and legume species. Assessing genetic diversity in grassland plant species is demanding due to the large number of different species and the level of resolution needed. However, recent methodological advances could help in tackling this challenge at a larger scale. In this review, we outline the methods that can be used to measure genetic diversity in plants, highlighting their strengths and limitations for genetic diversity assessments of grassland plant species, with a special focus on forage plants. Such methods can be categorized into DNA fragment, hybridization array, and high-throughput sequencing (HTS) methods, and they differ in terms of resolution, throughput, and multiplexing potential. Special attention is given to HTS approaches (i.e., plastid genome skimming, whole genome re-sequencing, reduced representation libraries, sequence capture, and amplicon sequencing), because they enable unprecedented large-scale assessments of genetic diversity in non-model organisms with complex genomes, such as forage grasses and legumes. As no single method may be suited for all kinds of purposes, we also provide practical perspectives for genetic diversity analyses in forage breeding and genetic resource conservation efforts.