Molecular breeding for the genetic improvement of forage crops and turf: Proceedings of the 4th international symposium on the molecular breeding of forage and turf, a satellite workshop of the XXth International Grassland Congress, July 2005, Aberystwyth

289 Pages·2005·4.935 MB·English

by  M.O. Humphreys

Molecular breeding for
the genetic improvement
of forage crops and turf
edited by:
M.O. Humphreys
Molecular breeding for the genetic improvement
of forage crops and turf

Molecular breeding for
the genetic improvement
of forage crops and turf
Proceedings of the 4th international symposium on the
molecular breeding of forage and turf, a satellite workshop
of the XXth International Grassland Congress, July 2005,
Aberystwyth, Wales
edited by:
M.O. Humphreys
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Nothing from this publi cation may be
repro duced, stored in a computerised
Subject headings: system or published in any form or in any
DNA markers and QTL analysis manner, including electronic, mechanical,
Genomics and gene discovery reprographic or photographic, without prior
Genetic diversity written permission from the publisher,
Wageningen Academic Publishers,
P.O. Box 220, NL-6700 AE Wageningen,
ISBN: 978-90-76998-73-2 The Netherlands.
e-ISBN: 978-90-8686-555-0
DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-555-0 The individual contributions in this
publication and any liabilities arising from
them remain the responsibility of the
First published, 2005 authors.
The publisher is not responsible for possible
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The Netherlands, 2005 derived from this publication.
IGER local Scientific Committee

Joint Chairs
Mervyn Humphreys
Chris Pollock

Members:
Ian King
Iain Donnison
Helen Ougham
Phillip Morris
Mike Humphreys
Michael Abberton
Pete Wilkins
Sid Thomas

IGER local Administration Committee

Mervyn Humphreys
Ann Davies
Liz Griffiss-White

Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf International Organising Committee

Mervyn Humphreys
German Spangenberg
Reed Barker
Andy Hopkins
Odd Arne Rognli
Hitoshi Nakagawa

Acknowledgements

Financial support was gratefully received from the following organisations for this publication:

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

Foreword

Grassland covers 26% of the world’s total land area. It produces feed for livestock; maintains
soil fertility; protects and conserves soil and water resources; creates a habitat for wildlife;
and provides recreational space for sport and leisure while contributing to the general
landscape. Managed grassland systems can provide tourism, recreation and environmental
benefits at the same time as maintaining sustainable economic outputs.

Forage breeding programmes have produced improvements in both yield and quality.
However, to reduce pollution risks from agriculture and enhance environmental quality,
resources such as nutrients and water must be used more efficiently. With a widening range of
traits, techniques for more accurate, rapid and non-invasive phenotyping and genotyping
become increasingly important. The large amounts of data involved require good
bioinformatics support. Data of various kinds must be integrated from an increasingly wide
range of sources such as genetic resource and mapping information for plant populations
through to the transcriptome and metabolome of individual tissues. The merging of data from
disparate sources and multivariate data-mining across datasets can reveal novel information
concerning the biology of complex systems.

Application of molecular breeding technologies to forage breeding offers potential for faster
and more targeted cultivar development. New approaches based on biotechnology are
becoming more accessible; including functional genomics leading to marker assisted
introgression and selection. Forage species are genetically diverse in comparison to other
crops due to an outcrossing mating system, high potential for hybridisation between related
species and the absence of genetic bottlenecks caused by domestication. Conservation of this
biodiversity across a range of geographical and ecological niches provides a rich resource for
allele mining to facilitate response to future challenges, such as changes in climate and land-
use. Technologies for monitoring and manipulating gene expression provide new research
tools and opportunities in molecular breeding but important questions concerning risk
assessment are raised with regard to transgenics.

This book encompasses a broad range of topics associated with policy, strategy, research and
development in 8 keynote papers and 146 shorter contributions presented at the 4th
International Symposium on the Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf held in Aberystwyth,
Wales, UK during 3rd – 7th July 2005. Previous MBFT Symposia have been held in Japan in
1998, Australia in 2000 and the USA in 2003. On this occasion the MBFT Symposium was
held as a Satellite Workshop of the XX International Grassland Congress that took place at
University College Dublin, Ireland from 26th June to 1st July 2005. This provided a welcome
opportunity for molecular breeding activities to be drawn to the attention of the wider global
grassland community and encourage broader interactions.

An up-to-date account of progress and potential in the genetic improvement of grassland is
provided in the book which demonstrates how recent advances in molecular techniques are
being used to develop breeding objectives and strategies. State-of-the-art molecular
techniques and resources are described that encompass a unique range of expertise in genetic
mapping, trait dissection, comparative genomics, bioinformatics, gene discovery and risk
assessment. Examples of work in progress or recently completed are provided from across the
world. The book has broad educational value and should interest grassland users and policy
makers as well as plant geneticists and breeders.
Molecular breeding for the genetic improvement of forage crops and turf 7
My thanks go to the members of the MBFT International Committee, the XX International
Grassland Congress Scientific and Workshop Committees, the local IGER Scientific and
Administration Committees, the many reviewers of the submitted papers and, of course, the
authors themselves. This publication was made possible through the vital and generous
support of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs in the UK and the Samuel
Roberts Noble Foundation in the USA.

Mervyn Humphreys

May 2005

8 Molecular breeding for the genetic improvement of forage crops and turf
Table of contents

Foreword 7
Keynote presentations 17
Objectives and benefits of molecular breeding in forage species 19
T. Lübberstedt
Introgression mapping in the grasses 31
I.P. King, J. King, I.P. Armstead, J.A. Harper, L.A. Roberts, H. Thomas, H.J. Ougham, R.N. Jones,
A. Thomas, BJ Moore, L. Huang and I.S. Donnison
QTL analysis and trait dissection in ryegrasses (Lolium spp.) 43
T. Yamada and J.W. Forster
Translational genomics for alfalfa varietal improvement 55
G.D. May
Application of molecular technologies in forage plant breeding 63
K.F. Smith, J.W. Forster, M.P. Dobrowolski, N.O.I. Cogan, N.R. Bannan, E. van Zijll de Jong, M.
Emmerling and G.C. Spangenberg
A computational pipeline for the development of comparative anchor tagged sequence (CATS) markers 73
L. Schauser, J. Fredslund, L. Heegaard Madsen, N. Sandal and J. Stougaard
Future directions in the molecular breeding of forage and turf 83
G.C. Spangenberg, J.W. Forster, D. Edwards, U. John, A. Mouradov, M. Emmerling, J. Batley, S. Felitti,
N.O.I. Cogan, K.F. Smith and M.P. Dobrowolski
Application of molecular markers in genetic resources management of perennial ryegrass 99
R. van Treuren
Section 1: Objectives, benefits and targets of molecular breeding 111
Leaves of high yielding perennial ryegrass contain less aggregated Rubisco than S23 113
A. Kingston-Smith and P.W. Wilkins
Variability in quantity and composition of water soluble carbohydrates among Irish accessions and
European varieties of perennial ryegrass 114
S. McGrath, S. Barth, A. Frohlich, M. Francioso, S.A. Lamorte and T.R. Hodkinson
Introgression breeding for improvement of winter hardiness in Lolium /Festuca complex using
androgenenesis 115
T. Yamada, Y.D. Guo and Y. Mizukami
A new napier grass stunting disease in Kenya associated with phytoplasma 116
A.B. Orodho, S.I. Ajanga, P. Jones and P.O. Mudavadi
Studies of seed characteristics of ecotypes of lucerne, Bromus and Agropyron in response to
Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani 117
M.A. Alizadeh
Genetic analysis of the interaction between the host perennial ryegrass and the crown rust pathogen
(Puccinia coronata f.sp. lolii) 118
P.M. Dracatos, J.L. Dumsday, R.S. Olle, N.O.I. Cogan, M.P. Dobrowolski, K.F. Smith and J.W. Forster
Molecular characterisation of bacterial wilt resistance in Lolium multiflorum Lam. 119
B. Studer, B. Boller, F. Widmer, U.K. Posselt, E. Bauer and R. Kölliker
Discriminating stay-green grasses using hyperspectral imaging and chemometrics 120
J. Taylor, B. Moore, J.J. Rowland, H. Thomas and H. Ougham
Non-destructive assessment of quality and yield for grass-breeding 121
A.G.T. Schut, M.J.J. Pustjens, P. Wilkins, J. Meuleman, P. Reyns, A. Lovatt and G.W.A.M. van der Heijden
Root senescence in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) 122
K.J. Webb, E. Tuck and S. Heywood
Tropical vine legume-maize mixtures for enhanced silage in temperate climates 123
H. Riday

Molecular breeding for the genetic improvement of forage crops and turf 9