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QTL analyses and comparative genetic mapping of frost tolerance, winter survival and drought tolerance in meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.)

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Abstract

Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for frost and drought tolerance, and winter survival in the field, were mapped in meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) and compared with corresponding traits in Triticeae and rice to study co-location with putatively orthologous QTLs and known abiotic stress tolerance genes. The genomes of grass species are highly macrosyntenic; however, the Festuca/Lolium and Triticeae homoeologous chromosomes 4 and 5 show major structural differences that is especially interesting in comparative genomics of frost tolerance. The locations of two frost tolerance/winter survival QTLs on Festuca chromosome 5F correspond most likely to the Fr-A1 and Fr-A2 loci on wheat homoeologous group 5A chromosomes. A QTL for long-term drought tolerance on chromosome 3F (syntenic with rice 1) support evidence from introgression of Festuca genome segments onto homoeologous Lolium chromosomes (3L) that this genome region is an excellent source of tolerance towards drought stress. The coincident location of several stress tolerance QTL in Festuca with QTL and genes in Triticeae species, notably dehydrins, CBF transcription factors and vernalisation response genes indicate the action of structural or regulatory genes conserved across evolutionarily distant species.

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Abbreviations

QTL:

Quantitative trait loci

Ft:

Frost tolerance

Ws:

Winter survival

Dtm:

Moderate drought tolerance

Dts:

Severe drought tolerance

Gs:

Degree of green leaves after severe drought

Ts:

Percentage of live tillers after severe drought

IM:

Interval mapping

MQM:

Multiple QTL mapping

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Hanne Henriksen, Øyvind Jørgensen and Torleiv Veum, The Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Britta From, Graminor AS, for excellent technical assistance. We would like also to thank Dr. Harry Thomas, IBERS (formerly the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research), for indispensable help with the drought experiment, and Simen R. Sandve for valuable comments on the manuscript. This investigation was supported by the EU-projects ‘European Gramineae Mapping Project’ (EGRAM—contract no. BI04-CT97-2220) and ‘Sustainable Grasslands Withstanding Environmental Stress’ (SAGES—contract no. QLK5-CT-2000-00764), and Grants no. 110733/112 and 110732/130 from the Research Council of Norway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432, Ås, Norway

    Vibeke Alm, Carlos S. Busso, Åshild Ergon, Heidi Rudi & Odd Arne Rognli

  2. Department of Research Administration, University of Oslo, PO Box 1072, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Vibeke Alm

  3. Department of Otolaryngology, Stanley S Scott Cancer Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Carlos S. Busso

  4. Graminor AS, Torggården, 8049, Bodø, Norway

    Arild Larsen

  5. Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3EB, UK

    Michael W. Humphreys

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Alm, V., Busso, C.S., Ergon, Å. et al. QTL analyses and comparative genetic mapping of frost tolerance, winter survival and drought tolerance in meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.). Theor Appl Genet 123, 369–382 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-011-1590-z

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