Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis of 96 Canadian oat cultivars released between 1886 and 2001

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Abstract
Canadian oat breeders have developed and released more than 130 cultivars since 1886, but no systematic analyses of the genetic diversity of Canadian oat have been made. Ninety-six Canadian oat cultivars released between 1886 and 2001 were examined for genetic diversity and relationships using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Ten AFLP primer pairs were applied and over 442 polymorphic bands were generated for each cultivar. Most of the cultivars were found to be interrelated, although a few genetically distinct cultivars were also identified. The genetic variation observed among these cultivars was low. Only 42.8% of the total scorable bands were polymorphic, of which 59 polymorphic bands were observed frequently (f ≥ 0.90) and 130 bands were detected infrequently (f ≤ 0.01) among the 96 cultivars. The mean proportion of fixed recessive bands for all cultivars was high (60.2%) and ranged from 52.3% in cultivar ‘Erban’ to 65.2% in cultivar ‘Glen’. The genetic variability did not change significantly in the Canadian oat breeding programs; only about 1% of the AFLP variation might have been fixed during the 115 years of oat breeding. These findings demonstrate the narrowness of the Canadian oat gene pool and the urgent need to broaden the gene pool for sustainable oat improvement in Canada. Key words: Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), oat, Avena sativa, genetic diversity, genetic relationship

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