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Tagging and mapping candidate loci for vernalization and flower initiation in hexaploid oat

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Abstract

Flowering time is a decisive factor in the adaptation of oat. Some oat varieties require low temperatures for floral initiation, a process called vernalization. The objectives of this study were to clone, characterize, and map genes associated with vernalization in oat, and to identify markers linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affect vernalization response. Genetic linkage maps were developed using Diversity Arrays Technology markers in recombinant inbred lines from the oat populations UFRGS 8 × UFRGS 930605 and UFRGS 881971 × Pc68/5*Starter. Flowering time and response to vernalization were characterized using field trials and controlled greenhouse experiments, and QTL were identified in two genetic regions on each of the two maps. PCR primer pairs anchored in the conserved coding regions of the Vrn1, Vrn2, and Vrn3 genes from wheat, barley, and Lolium were used to amplify and clone corresponding oat sequences. Cloned sequences corresponding to the targeted genes were recovered for both Vrn1 and Vrn3. A copy of the Vrn3 gene was mapped using a PCR amplicon, and an oat Vrn1 fragment was mapped by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The location of the mapped Vrn1 locus was homologous to major QTL affecting flowering time in other work, and homoeologous to major QTL affecting response to vernalization in this study.

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Notes

  1. Flowering time is often estimated based on observations of heading date in cereals because floral initiation happens within heads or panicles where it is difficult to observe. Although we recorded observations for heading, we use the term flowering hereafter for consistency with other literature in cereal crops.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Andrzej Kilian for providing customized pre-commercial services for the oat DArT marker assay used in this work, and for his excellent advice in interpretation of results. We thank Steve Harrison and Paul Murphy for useful advice on winter oats and vernalization conditions. We thank Julie Chapados for the sequencing support and Dr. Weikai Yan and Annick Gauthier for assistance with planning and execution of fieldwork. A portion of this research was made possible by generous support from Quaker Oats Company (USA), Quaker Tropicana Gatorade (Canada), and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Matching Investment Initiative. The authors also thank the Brazilian Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for the financial support of this research and for the scholarship provided for the first author.

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  1. Itamar C. Nava

    Present address: Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN, 55108-6026, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Science, Agronomy School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Bento Gonçalves, 7712, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil

    Marcelo T. Pacheco & Luiz C. Federizzi

  2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, ECORC, K.W. Neatby Bldg, 960 Carling Ave., C.E. Farm, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada

    Charlene P. Wight & Nicholas A. Tinker

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Correspondence to Nicholas A. Tinker.

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Nava, I.C., Wight, C.P., Pacheco, M.T. et al. Tagging and mapping candidate loci for vernalization and flower initiation in hexaploid oat. Mol Breeding 30, 1295–1312 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-012-9715-x

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