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Genome constitution and evolution in Lolium × Festuca hybrid cultivars (Festulolium)

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Abstract

Festulolium hybrids are being increasingly used worldwide as forage grasses. This is due to their superior agronomic characteristics, which combine yield performance of ryegrasses (Lolium multiflorum and L. perenne) and tolerance against abiotic stress of fescues (Festuca pratensis, F. arundinacea and F. arundinacea var. glaucescens). Despite the widespread use, only fragmentary information exists on their genomic constitution. We used genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) to analyze genomic constitution of over 600 plants from almost all commercially available cultivars of Festulolium. Our results revealed a surprisingly large range of variation in the proportions of parental genomes and in the extent of intergenomic recombination. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with probes for ribosomal DNA, we assessed the frequency of recombination and elimination of particular chromosomes and chromosome groups in three contrasting Festulolium cultivars. This study provides novel information that will aid in understanding the relationship between a genetic make-up and the phenotype of Festulolium hybrids. Our results indicate that GISH might be a useful tool to aid in Festulolium breeding and provide data for a more detailed description of registered cultivars.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Vladimír Černoch for providing plants of Festulolium hybrids and to Dr. Marie Kubaláková for providing the probe for 5S rDNA. This work was supported by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (grant award no. S5038104).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics and Cytometry, Institute of Experimental Botany, Sokolovská 6, 77200, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    D. Kopecký & J. Doležel

  2. Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    J. Loureiro

  3. Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 34, 60-479, Poznań, Poland

    Z. Zwierzykowski

  4. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Génétique et Amélioration des Plantes Fourragères, 86600, Lusignan, France

    M. Ghesquière

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  1. D. Kopecký
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  2. J. Loureiro
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  3. Z. Zwierzykowski
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  4. M. Ghesquière
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  5. J. Doležel
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Correspondence to D. Kopecký.

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Communicated by B. Friebe

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Kopecký, D., Loureiro, J., Zwierzykowski, Z. et al. Genome constitution and evolution in Lolium × Festuca hybrid cultivars (Festulolium). Theor Appl Genet 113, 731–742 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-006-0341-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-006-0341-z

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