Ploidy Level and DNA Content of Perennial Ryegrass Germplasm as Determined by Flow Cytometry
2009
Wang, Ying | Bigelow, Cale A. | Jiang, Yiwei
Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is a widely used cool-season turfgrass species. The exact ploidy levels of the worldwide perennial ryegrass accessions in the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) are unknown, which could complicate future use and breeding efforts. The objective of this study was to determine the ploidy level and DNA content of the 194 USDA NPGS perennial ryegrass accessions and six commercial cultivars (Brightstar SLT, Catalina II, Divine, Inspire, Manhattan 4, Silver Dollar) using flow cytometry. Among the 200 accessions, 194 diploids and six tetraploids were identified. Three tetraploids originated from Canada with the remaining from Ireland, Japan, and The Netherlands. The average DNA content was 5.60 pg/2C for the diploid and 11.45 pg/2C for the tetraploid. The 2C DNA content was positively correlated (r = 0.23, P < 0.01) with seedling plant height but not seedling leaf width. This ploidy data provide important information for future marker trait analysis and cultivar improvement.
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