An assessment of genetic variation and relationships of smooth bromegrass cultivars and accessions using AFLP markers
Smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) is an important cultivated perennial grass species in temperate regions of North America. Information on the genetic diversity and the relationships of available populations is necessary for an effective cultivar improvement program in this crop. The objective of this study was to assess and characterize the genetic variation and relationships of smooth bromegrass cultivars and genebank accessions on the basis of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Fourteen wild accessions and 23 cultivars representing several regions of the world were analyzed using six AFLP primer combinations. Of the total number of markers amplified, 90% was polymorphic. A set of 159 robust polymorphic markers was used to genotype the individuals. No AFLP band was specific to an individual bromegrass accession, but bands appeared in different frequencies among the populations. The molecular marker variation within populations of smooth bromegrass (79%) was higher than that among populations (21%). Cultivars developed in the former USSR were the most variable, followed by those developed in the United States of America and Canada. As a group, cultivars were more variable than wild genebank accessions. All of the North American smooth bromegrass cultivars were clustered together, suggesting a common ancestry of North American smooth brome cultivars developed over the past 60 yr. Cultivars developed in the former USSR occurred in several different clusters in the dendrogram, indicating a high among-cultivar diversity. Key words: Bromegrass, accessions, AFLP markers