title: Promoting utilization of Saccharum spp. genetic resources through genetic diversity analysis and core collection construction.
abstract: Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and other members of Saccharum spp. are attractive biofuel feedstocks. One of the two World Collections of Sugarcane and Related Grasses (WCSRG) is in Miami, FL. This WCSRG has 1002 accessions, presumably with valuable alleles for biomass, other important agronomic traits, and stress resistance. However, the WCSRG has not been fully exploited by breeders due to its lack of characterization and unmanageable population. In order to optimize the use of this genetic resource, we aim to 1) genotypically evaluate all the 1002 accessions to understand its genetic diversity and population structure and 2) form a core collection, which captures most of the genetic diversity in the WCSRG. We screened 36 microsatellite markers on 1002 genotypes and recorded 209 alleles. Genetic diversity of the WCSRG ranged from 0 to 0.5 with an average of 0.304. The population structure analysis and principal coordinate analysis revealed three clusters with all S. spontaneum in one cluster, S. officinarum and S. hybrids in the second cluster and mostly non-Saccharum spp. in the third cluster. A core collection of 300 accessions was identified which captured the maximum genetic diversity of the entire WCSRG which can be further exploited for sugarcane and energy cane breeding. Sugarcane and energy cane breeders can effectively utilize this core collection for cultivar improvement. Further, the core collection can provide resources for forming an association panel to evaluate the traits of agronomic and commercial importance.
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Spurthi N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America; College of Life Sciences, Dezhou University, Dezhou, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bhuvan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pathak
authors.affiliation: Subtropical Horticulture Research Station, USDA-ARS, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ayala-Silva
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xiping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Everglades Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Belle Glade, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Sugarcane Field Station, USDA-ARS, Canal Point, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Neil C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Glynn
authors.affiliation: Subtropical Horticulture Research Station, USDA-ARS, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.affiliation: Sugarcane Field Station, USDA-ARS, Canal Point, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Glaz
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: Sugarcane Field Station, USDA-ARS, Canal Point, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jack C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Comstock
authors.affiliation: Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America; Genetics Institute, Plant Molecular and Biology Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America; FAFU and UIUC-SIB Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D001947:Breeding; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D031786:Saccharum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels