Genetic Similarity of Avena sativa L. Varieties as an Example of a Narrow Genetic Pool of Contemporary Cereal Species.

Magdalena Cieplak,Krystyna Werwińska,Sylwia Okoń

doi:10.3390/plants10071424

Abstract

The assessment of the genetic diversity of cultivated varieties is a very important element of breeding programs. This allows the determination of the level of genetic differentiation of cultivated varieties, their genetic distinctiveness, and is also of great importance in the selection of parental components for crossbreeding. The aim of the present study was to determine the level of genetic diversity of oat varieties currently grown in Central Europe based on two marker systems: ISSR and SCoT. The research conducted showed that both these types of markers were suitable for conducting analyses relating to the assessment of genetic diversity. The calculated coefficients showed that the analyzed cultivars were characterized by a high genetic similarity. However, the UPGMA and PCoA analyses clearly indicated the distinctiveness of the breeding programs conducted in Central European countries. The high genetic similarity of the analyzed forms allow us to conclude that it is necessary to expand the genetic pool of oat varieties. Numerous studies show that landraces may be the donor of genetic variation.

Highlights

The average polymorphic information content (PIC) value for the amplification products obtained from the inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) primers was 0.168, ranging from 0.10 to 0.22
Reduced genetic diversity can be seen in studies comparing the genetic diversity of landraces and modern cultivars, indicating that it may be a result of carefully conducted breeding programs
Similar results were obtained for wheat, where it was shown that landraces are more diverse at the genetic level than in modern cultivars [2,28,29]

Summary

Introduction

The assessment of genetic diversity plays an important role in the characterization of breeding lines, cultivars, or species and is the basis for the selection of appropriate parental forms in the development of crossing. Crossbreeding within a small pool of parental forms has resulted in most of today’s breeding cultivars being almost homogeneous and closely related [9]. The consequence of this is a relatively narrow gene pool, resulting in a low phenotypic diversity [7]. The loss of genetic diversity has become an important problem in oat breeding and in many other cereal species.

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Conclusion