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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Forage and Range Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #366541
Research Project: Improved Plant Genetic Resources and Methodologies for Rangelands, Pastures, and Turf Landscapes in the Semiarid Western U.S.

Location: Forage and Range Research

Title: Kentucky bluegrass vernalization

Author
item Bushman, Shaun
item JOHNSON, PAUL - Utah State University
item ORLOVA, IRINA - Scotts Miracle-Gro
item HARRIMAN, BOB - Scotts Miracle-Gro

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/5/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) seed production in Washington and Oregon periodically suffers from poor seed set due to incomplete vernalization. To improve Kentucky bluegrass selection for ideal vernalization and seed production, a more robust method to find vernalization genes is necessdary. To this end, we are conducting full-genome sequencing of a Kentucky bluegrass polyhaploid plant, and identifying the vernalization genes within that Kentucky bluegrass genome. We found a unique gene arrangement for the Vernalization-1 (Vrn1) gene that included a duplicated exon1 region, present in all Kentucky bluegrass varieties but not ancestral Poa species. As the major gene responding to vernalization cues and initiating the flowering process in Spring, the Vrn1 gene regulation and variation are of primary interest