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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #404196
Research Project: Increasing the Utility of Turf in Urban Environments of the Southwest U.S.

Location: Water Management and Conservation Research

Title: Directional breeding generates distinct genetic diversity in hybrid turf bermudagrass as probed with SSR markers

Author
item Serba, Desalegn
item FANG, TILIN - Oklahoma State University
item WU, YANQI - Oklahoma State University

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/2024
Publication Date: 2/26/2024
Citation: Serba, D.D., Fang, T., Wu, Y. 2024. Directional breeding generates distinct genetic diversity in hybrid turf bermudagrass as probed with SSR markers. HortScience. 59(4): 453-461. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17525-23.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17525-23

Interpretive Summary: Bermudagrass is one of the warm-season turfgrasses adapted to the southern and transitional zones in the USA. In order to maximize the use of turf bermudagrass, it is essential to breed and release genetically diverse cultivars that suits many areas. A DNA profiling study was conducted of 21 newly developed bermudagrass hybrids compared to 11 commercial cultivars. Results from the analysis demonstrated that directed breeding for drought tolerance and winter survival can result in progeny with a diverse genetic background. These findings provide evidence that the genetic composition of newly developed bermudagrass hybrids can be very different from existing commercial cultivars. This diversity is important to the turfgrass industry and further demonstrates the effectiveness of directional breeding such as selection for drought resistance or cold hardiness.

Technical Abstract: Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is a drought-resistant warm-season turfgrass adapted to the southern and transitional zones in the United States. Multiple hybrid cultivars have been developed and released for use as turfgrass, and others are still undergoing development. Increasing genetic diversity of commercial cultivars is vital to stress tolerance. A DNA profiling study of 21 experimental selections from the Oklahoma State University turfgrass breeding program and 11 cultivars was conducted using 51 simple sequence repeat primer pairs across the bermudagrass genome. A pairwise genetic relationship analysis of the genotypes using 352 polymorphic bands showed genetic similarity coefficients ranging from 0.59 to 0.89. The average pairwise population differentiation values were 0.012 for the 11 cultivars and 0.169 for the 21 selections. A cluster analysis using the unweighted paired group with the arithmetic average method grouped the entries into six clusters. A correlation analysis identified different levels of pairwise genetic relationships among the entries that largely reflected parental relationship. Directional breeding and selection for cold hardiness or drought resistance created progeny that had distinct genetic diversity in the tested bermudagrasses. It is evident that an increase in genetic diversity of the existing cultivar pool with the release of one or more experimental selections for commercial use will strengthen and improve bermudagrass systems.