title: Comparative study of diversity based on heat tolerant-related morpho-physiological traits and molecular markers in tall fescue accessions.
abstract: Heat stress is a critical challenge to tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) in many areas of the globe and variations in genetic structure and functional traits is for the efficient breeding programs on developing heat tolerant cultivars. Tolerant-related morpho-physiological traits and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were employed to survey genetic diversity in greenhouse and growth chamber trials. 100 tall fescue accessions, including 8 commercial cultivars and 92 natural genotypes, showed a high variation in phenotypic performance under heat stress. Based on standardized heat tolerant-related morpho-physiological data, all tall fescue accessions were clustered into five groups. The accessions with similar heat tolerance were likely to be clustered in the same group. The highest genetic diversity was obtained for accessions from Africa judged by Nei's gene diversity (0.2640) and PIC (0.2112). All grass accessions could be divided into three major groups based on SSR markers, which was partially congruous to the geographical regions and history of introduction. A low correlation was found between morpho-physiological traits and SSR markers by Mantel test. The patterns in morpho-physiological trait variations and genetic diversity associated with heat tolerance were useful to design breeding programs for developing heat stress resistance in tall fescue.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Genetic and Improvement of Jiangxi, Institute of Biology and Resources, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China.|Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of High Efficent Processing of Bamboo, China National Bamboo Research Center, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yufang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Genetic and Improvement of Jiangxi, Institute of Biology and Resources, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amombo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jinmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000483:Alleles; D044822:Biodiversity; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D031751:Festuca; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006358:Hot Temperature; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010641:Phenotype; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers