Genome-wide allelic shifts in forage crops when grown at five diverse locations across Norway

摘要

The current germplasm of forage crops like perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and red clover (Trifoliumpratense L.) are not adequately adapted to future climatic conditions at higher latitudes. The climate is predicted to be more unstable during winter, and winter survival needs to be improved. In this study, the aim was to detect the effects of selection/local adaptation by estimating genome-wide shifts in allelic composition of single nucleotide polymorphism markers in samples from swards of perennial ryegrass, timothy and red clover grown and managed at diverse locations in Norway. In addition separate mixtures of cultivars and breeding populations of perennial ryegrass, timothy and red clover was sown at five geographically distinct locations throughout Norway. The fields were harvested for 3 years and leaf tissues sampled randomly from about 200 plants field"1 year"1. To detect allelic shifts, genotyping by sequencing was used to generate genome-wide allele frequency fingerprints (GWAFFs). These allele frequency fingerprints were used to monitor shifts in population structure in response to location and years. Preliminary analyses demonstrate that the GWAFFs clearly distinguished samples from years/fields with good survival from those with poor survival based on scoring of winter survival in spring in perennial ryegrass and red clover.