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A study on the genetic relationships of Avena taxa and the origins of hexaploid oat

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Abstract

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Using next-generation DNA sequencing, it was possible to clarify the genetic relationships of Avena species and deduce the likely pathway from which hexaploid oat was formed by sequential polyploidization events.

Abstract

A sequence-based diversity study was conducted on a representative sample of accessions from species in the genus Avena using genotyping-by-sequencing technology. The results show that all Avena taxa can be assigned to one of four major genetic clusters: Cluster 1 = all hexaploids including cultivated oat, Cluster 2 = AC genome tetraploids, Cluster 3 = C genome diploids, Cluster 4 = A genome diploid and tetraploids. No evidence was found for the existence of discrete B or D genomes. Through a series of experiments involving the creation of in silico polyploids, it was possible to deduce that hexaploid oat likely formed by the fusion of an ancestral diploid species from Cluster 3 (A. clauda, A. eriantha) with an ancestral diploid species from Cluster 4D (A. longiglumis, A. canariensis, A. wiestii) to create the ancestral tetraploid from Cluster 2 (A. magna, A. murphyi, A. insularis). Subsequently, that ancestral tetraploid fused again with another ancestral diploid from Cluster 4D to create hexaploid oat. Based on the geographic distribution of these species, it is hypothesized that both the tetraploidization and hexaploidization events may have occurred in the region of northwest Africa, followed by radiation of hexaploid oat to its current worldwide distribution. The results from this study shed light not only on the origins of this important grain crop, but also have implications for germplasm collection and utilization in oat breeding.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by PepsiCo Global R&D. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of PepsiCo Inc. Thanks to Don Smith for assistance in curating and analyzing the DNA sequence data and to Peter Eckstein and Mark Colin for plant tissue sampling. We also thank GRIN USDA, GRIN Canada, IPK Gatersleben and John Innes Centre (GRU) for providing the seed stocks used in this study. The BRC has acknowledgement guideline http://www.biotech.cornell.edu/brc/brc/services/terms-and-policies#Acknowledgement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Source Genetics, 33 Thornwood Drive, Suite 300, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA

    Paul Chew, Kendra Meade, Carlos Harjes & Steven D. Tanksley

  2. PepsiCo, 3 Skyline Dr., Hawthorne, NY, 10532, USA

    Alec Hayes

  3. PepsiCo, ℅ University of Minnesota, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Yong Bao & Gabe Gusmini

  4. Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Agriculture Building, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8, Canada

    Aaron D. Beattie

  5. PepsiCo, 450 South Oak Way, Green Park, Reading, RG1 9ZB, UK

    Ian Puddephat

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  1. Paul Chew
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  2. Kendra Meade
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Correspondence to Steven D. Tanksley.

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Additional information

Communicated by M. E. Sorrells.

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List of all Avena accessions included in the current study (XLSX 52 kb)

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Chew, P., Meade, K., Hayes, A. et al. A study on the genetic relationships of Avena taxa and the origins of hexaploid oat. Theor Appl Genet 129, 1405–1415 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-016-2712-4

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