Abstract
BackgroundSainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) is a promising alternative forage plant of good quality, moderate nutrient demand and a high content of polyphenolic compounds. Its poor adoption is caused by the limited availability of well performing varieties. Sainfoin is characterised as tetraploid and mainly outcrossing, but the extent of self-fertilisation and its consequences was not investigated so far. This study aimed at assessing the rate of self-fertilisation in sainfoin under different pollination regimes and at analysing the consequences on plant performance in order to assist future breeding efforts.MethodsThe self-fertilisation rate was assessed in three sainfoin populations with artificially directed pollination (ADP) and in three populations with non-directed pollination (NDP). Dominant SRAP (sequence-related amplified polymorphism) and codominant SSR (simple sequence repeats) markers were used to detect self-fertilisation in sainfoin for the first time based on molecular marker data.ResultsHigh rates of self-fertilisation of up to 64.8 % were observed for ADP populations in contrast to only up to 3.9 % for NDP populations. Self-fertilisation in ADP populations led to a reduction in plant height, plant vigour and, most severely, for seed yield.ConclusionsAlthough sainfoin is predominantly outcrossing, self-fertilisation can occur to a high degree under conditions of limited pollen availability. These results will influence future breeding efforts because precautions have to be taken when crossing breeding material. The resulting inbreeding depression can lead to reduced performance in self-fertilised offspring. Nevertheless the possibility of self-fertilisation also offers new ways for hybrid breeding based on the development of homogenous inbred lines.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-015-0275-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) is a promising alternative forage plant of good quality, moderate nutrient demand and a high content of polyphenolic compounds
Plant material and field trial Three populations of sainfoin (Onobrchis viciifolia) generated through artificially directed pollination in the greenhouse (ADP) and three populations generated under nondirected pollination (NDP) in the field were examined for rates of self-fertilisation
Self-fertilisation in ADP populations For the three ADP populations (Table 1), the number of markers obtained from sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) analysis ranged from 80 to 195 (Table 3)
Summary
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) is a promising alternative forage plant of good quality, moderate nutrient demand and a high content of polyphenolic compounds. Sainfoin is characterised as tetraploid and mainly outcrossing, but the extent of self-fertilisation and its consequences was not investigated so far. The perennial legume sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) combines a multitude of positive characteristics of grassland. Based on comparative cytological studies, an autopolyploid inheritance was suggested for sainfoin [7]. This was verified by a preponderance of tetrasomic gene segregation, which is characteristic for autotetraploid species, as shown in a study based on isozyme variation [8]. Sainfoin was described to be mainly cross-fertilising [11, 12], but a gametophytic or sporophytic self-incompatibility has not been described. Demdoum [15] verified that pollen tube growth occurred after selfpollination, but directed self-pollination by hand resulted in only small numbers of seeds
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