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Title: AGRONOMIC, CYTOLOGICAL AND RAPD EVALUATIONS OF AVENA SATIVA X A. MACROSTACHYA POPULATIONS.

Author
item SANTOS, ALBERT - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
item Livingston, David
item MURPHY, J - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Eastern Wheat Workers and Southern Small Grain Workers Proceedings
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/22/2002
Publication Date: 7/25/2002
Citation: Santos, A., Livingston, D.P., Murphy, J.P. 2002. Agronomic, cytological and rapd evaluations of avena sativa x a. macrostachya populations.. Eastern Wheat Workers and Southern Small Grain Workers Proceedings.

Interpretive Summary: The wild perennial oat, Avena macrostachya, was crossed to a commonly grown oat cultivar (Brooks) to see if desirable characteristics could be transferred to the common cultivar. DNA techniques were used to confirm that genetic material was indeed transferred. The freezing tolerance of two lines was greater than that of Brooks but did not surpass that of the most winter hardy oat cultivars, Wintok and Pennline40. One line derived from the cross significantly out-yielded the cultivar Brooks but did not have a higher test weight. Soil born mosiac virus susceptibility was reduced in one of the lines. This research showed that characteristics from the wild species can be incorporated into existing cultivars but more research is necessary to determine if the effort involved is worth the benefits.

Technical Abstract: To investigate the potential of transferring desirable agronomic traits from Avena macrostachya to A. Sativa, crosses were made between A macrostachya and A. Sativa using embryo rescue techniques. The resulting hybrids were backcrossed to Brooks and NK-Coker 716 as male parenets. Winter hardiness was evaluated in the field for two years in two locations and in controlled freezing tests. Agronomic characteristics were measured under field conditions in two location and over two years. The root squash technique was used to make chromosome counts. DNA was extracted after the procedure of Doyle and Doyle and RFLP analysis was performed using conventional techniques. Winter hardiness: Two lines, SB 1-2 and S131-3, had winter survival similar to A. macrostachya (47 - 57%) which was significantly (P<0.01) higher than Brooks. No line had significantly higher winter survival than NK-Coker 716 in its group. The crown freeze experiment confirmed the field winter survival results. SBI-2 had significantly (P<0.01) higher freezing resistance than Brooks, but was not different from the winter-hardy checks, "Wintok" and Pennline 40". Agronomic characteristics: Heading date, height and harvest index of all lines tested were not significantly different from their recurrent parents, Brooks and NK Coker 716. Line SB1-2 significantly out-yielded Brooks (P<0.05), but it's 1000 seed weight was not different. It had significantly lower soil borne mosaic virus (SBMV) rating than Brooks that was not different from A.macrostachya. Chromosome content: Two promising lines selected for the cytology study, SB 1-2 and SB 1-3, had euploid chromosome number (2n=6x=42) and no alien chromosomes were detected. Investigation of PMCs of SB 1-2 revealed ring quadrivalent structures suggesting chromosomal translocation. RAPD analysis: Twenty-eight percent of the 476 random, 10-base primers screened showed one to three polymorphic bands. Three primers from the University of British Columbia produced five polymorphic bands between SB 1-2, SB 1-3, Brooks, and A. macrostachya indicating that DNA segments were transferred from A. macrostachya to the cultivated oat genome.