Genetic variability and structure of an important wild steppe grass Psathyrostachys juncea (Triticeae: Poaceae) germplasm collection from north and central Asia

Yi Xiong; Yanli Xiong; Qingqing Yu; Junming Zhao; Xiong Lei; Zhixiao Dong; Jian Yang; Sijia Song; Yan Peng; Wenhui Liu; Shiqie Bai; Xiao Ma

doi:10.7717/peerj.9033

Genetic variability and structure of an important wild steppe grass Psathyrostachys juncea (Triticeae: Poaceae) germplasm collection from north and central Asia

PeerJ. 2020 Apr 21:8:e9033. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9033. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Yi Xiong^#¹, Yanli Xiong^#¹, Qingqing Yu¹, Junming Zhao¹, Xiong Lei¹, Zhixiao Dong¹, Jian Yang¹, Sijia Song¹, Yan Peng¹, Wenhui Liu², Shiqie Bai³, Xiao Ma¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
² Key Laboratory of Superior Forage Germplasm in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Xi-ning, China.
³ Sichuan Academy of Grassland Sciences, Chengdu, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Russian wildrye, Psathyrostachys junceus (Fisch.) Nevski, is an important wild steppe perennial grass, which is characterized by longevity and short robust rhizomes. It also has highly resistance in grazing and abiotic stress. In this study, the genetic diversity of eleven P. juncea wild germplasms from north and central Asia was investigated using AFLP markers. The P. juncea populations were divided into three clades in both UPGMA dendrogram and PCoA clustering corresponding to the three genetic memberships in STRUCTURE analysis. The genetic specificity of Xinjiang (XJ) populations was revealed by the highest N _e (1.5411) and H _j (0.3553) and their dispersion shown in UPGMA. High inbreeding coefficient (Wright's F statistics, f = 0.496, F _st = 0.128) was observed although a moderate degree of gene flow (N _m = 1.4736) existed, that may ascribe to habitat fragmentation or the low seedling recruitment, which ultimately resulted in decrease of population size and their genetic diversity. The key factors inducing moderate genetic differentiation detected in this study were isolation by distance (IBD), climatic variabilities and geographical barriers. All these results provide insights into the study of genetic status and germplasm collecting of Russian wildrye.

Keywords: AFLPs; Genetic diversity; Local adaptation; Population configuration; Psathyrostachys juncea.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (3177131276), the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (No. CARS-34) and Sichuan Key Technology R&D Program (2019YFN0170). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.