GISH characterization of Erianthus arundinaceus chromosomes in three generations of sugarcane intergeneric hybrids

Abstract

Within Erianthus, a genus close to Saccharum, the species E. arundinaceus has the potential to contribute valuable traits to sugarcane, including adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses and ratooning ability. Sugarcane breeders have tried for a long time to use Erianthus species in their breeding programs but until recently were constrained by a lack of fertile Saccharum x Erianthus hybrids. We report here for the first time the chromosome composition of fertile Saccharum officinarum x E. arundinaceus F1, BC1 (F1 x sugarcane cultivar), and BC2 (BC1 x sugarcane cultivar) hybrids. The F1 and BC2 resulted from n + n chromosome transmission, while the BC1 resulted from 2n + n transmission. In the BC1 clones, the number of E. arundinaceus chromosomes ranged from 21 to 30, and in the BC2 clones, the number ranged from 14 to 15, revealing cases of chromosome loss. No recombination events between Saccharum and Erianthus chromosomes were observed in either the BC1 or BC2 clones. The implications of these results for introgression of genes from E. arundinaceus in sugarcane breeding programs are discussed. We propose a strategy to identify the agronomic value of chromosomes from E. arundinaceus and to conduct targeted breeding based on this information.

Characterization, Genomic Organization, Abundance, and Chromosomal Distribution of Ty1-copia Retrotransposons in Erianthus arundinaceus

“…Therefore, it has been recognized as one of the most important wild species to the genus Saccharum for increasing the narrow genetic basis of modern sugarcane cultivars (Jackson and Henry, 2011). The genetic diversity of E. arundinaceus has been successfully introgressed into sugarcane backgrounds, and a series of genuine progeny have been produced in different backcrossed generations (D’Hont et al, 1995; Piperidis et al, 2001, 2010; Cai et al, 2005; Wu et al, 2014; Huang et al, 2015). The genomic size of E. arundinaceus had been estimated to be about 3.57 Gb per haploid chromosome equivalent (Yan et al, 2016).…”

Molecular Insights of Genetic Variation in Erianthus arundinaceus Populations Native to China

“…Due to its excellent tolerance to abiotic stresses and disease resistance, the species has long been used in sugarcane breeding [7]. Although difficult, breeders have successfully generated fertile Saccharum × Erianthus hybrids, which are further crossed to sugarcane clones in the production of wide intergeneric hybrids [8]–[11]. Recently, the species has been targeted as a bioenergy perennial because of its high biomass yield potential on marginal lands [12].…”

Sugarcane Genetics and Genomics

“…The number of E. arundinaceus chromosomes in the BC 1 and BC 2 clones displayed cases of chromosome loss. No recombination events between Saccharum and Erianthus chromosomes were observed in either the BC 1 or BC 2 clones (Piperidis, Chen, et al 2010).…”