Evaluation of different methods for assessing the reproductive mode of weeping lovegrass plants, Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees
Mauro Meier A , Diego Zappacosta A , Juan Pablo Selva A , Silvina Pessino B and Viviana Echenique A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Laboratorio de Biotecnología Vegetal, CERZOS-CONICET, CCT Bahía Blanca, Camino La Carrindanga km 7 and Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Andrés 800, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
B Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Parque Villarino, S2125ZAA Zavalla, Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina.
C Corresponding author. Email: echeniq@criba.edu.ar
Australian Journal of Botany 59(3) 253-261 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT10267
Submitted: 8 October 2010 Accepted: 16 March 2011 Published: 9 May 2011
Abstract
Weeping lovegrass is a forage grass cultivated in semiarid regions of the world that reproduces mainly by apomixis (diplospory), a process that involves the formation of asexual seeds and bypasses the processes of meiosis and fertilisation. The aim of this work was to evaluate and compare different techniques (cytoembryology, callose deposition, flow cytometry and progeny tests) to determine the reproductive mode of weeping lovegrass. Typical sexual and apomictic processes were clearly differentiated using cytoembryology, and different callose deposition patterns were observed in sexual and apomictic genotypes. Previous studies indicated that presence of callose on the cell wall of the megaspore mother cell is associated only with sexual processes. Nevertheless, our results also found callose deposition in apomictic genotypes, although clearly different from the pattern found in sexual processes, allowing discrimination between sexual and apomictic plants. Flow cytometry seed screening using individual seeds did not differentiate between sexual and apomictic plants as the embryo : endosperm DNA content ratio was similar in sexual and apomictic plants. Progeny tests using molecular markers showed uniform patterns in offspring from apomictic plants and variable patterns among the progeny of sexual plants. The results obtained from cytological studies and progeny tests were similar, indicating that both methods provide useful tools for determination of reproductive mode. However, the callose test with aniline blue was faster and easier to use than other techniques.
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