Genetic Diversity within and among Nordic Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) Cultivars Determined on the Basis of AFLP Markers

Abstract

of this, meadow fescue was not being systematically used in meadows until the second half of the 19th cen-Twelve Nordic cultivars and one Icelandic natural population of tury. Until the beginning of the 20th century, seed was meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) were assessed by AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) marker technology to de-either imported (mainly from North America) or raised termine levels of genetic diversity within and genetic relationships locally (Newman, 1912). Imported seed material during between populations. Three cultivars were analyzed from each of the the 19th century was of unknown quality and often was Nordic countries (Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark), including associated with low germination capacity and species germplasm of long, medium, and short antiquity. A total of 253 plants admixture (Hasund, 1926). This called for a systematic were analyzed by 89 AFLP markers. A substantial degree of genetic improvement of forage crops adapted to Nordic condiheterogeneity was uncovered, and all individuals were genetically tions, which led to the initiation of meadow fescue breeddistinct from one another. AMOVA revealed that most of the variaing at the beginning of the 20th century (Newman, 1912; tion is distributed within rather than between cultivars. The genetic Linhard, 1926; Kivi, 1965; Wexelsen, 1965). diversity within newly released cultivars was as large as within oldMeadow fescue is a diploid (2n ϭ 2x ϭ 14) outbreeder cultivars, indicating that breeding has not eroded genetic diversity over time. PCO-and UPGMA-analyses revealed no clear structure

Genetic variation and comparison of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) cultivars and wild accessions as revealed by SSR markers

“…Typically, out-crossing species maintain relatively more of their genetic variation within populations than do self-pollinating species (Larson et al, 2004) and the variation is known to decrease with a reduced level of crossfertilization (Charmet and Balfourier, 1994). As much as 65% of the variation was distributed within the populations, comparable with the values obtained from similar studies of other outbreeding grass species (Bolaric et al, 2005;Fjellheim and Rognli, 2005). The high level of intercultivar diversity detected in this study could be largely due to the strong outcrossing mechanism in this species, which is likely to increase the degree of polymorphism.…”

Processes affecting genetic structure and conservation: a case study of wild and cultivated Brassica rapa

“…In this instance, the close similarity between the genetic diversity of recent and older varieties is suggestive that breeding has not significantly eroded genetic diversity of the crop, at least during recent decades. Fjellheim and Rognli (2005a) report a similar trend for varieties of another obligate outcrossing species, Festuca pratensis Huds. This situation is contrasted by the springsown varieties of B. rapa, where cultivars grown before 1978 apparently had a slightly higher degree of gene diversity than the more recent spring varieties released after that year.…”

Origin and ancestry of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) As revealed by AFLP markers

“…AFLP markers have been applied to a wide range of topics in botanical research and used extensively for the assessment of genetic diversity and characterization of germplasm collections (Maughan et al 1996;Abdalla et al 2000;Sharma et al 2000;Coulibaly et al 2002;Rouf-Mian et al 2002;Fu et al 2004;Fjellheim and Rognli 2005). AFLP analysis is also an attractive technique for studies in gene linkage (Thomas et al 1995;Hartl et al 1999) and systematics and evolution (Hill et al 1996;Kardolus et al 1998;Massa et al 2001;Badr et al 2002;El-Rabey et al 2002), and for elucidating the origin and domestication history of some cultivated crops (Heun et al 1997;Badr et al 2000).…”