Assignment 7
Found in the forest regions throughout Europe and stretching as far as west Asia, Elymus caninus is a type of self-pollinating wheatgrass. It is described as green, lax-leafed, and caespitose.[1] The widespread distribution of E. caninus has led to sizable differences in morphology, isozyme, prolamine, and DNA levels.[2] Morphological differences seen throughout E. caninus populations include: the number of florets per spikelet, the length of lemma awn, and the pubescence of leaves and their sheaths.[3] Populations from China, Italy, Pakistan, and Russia were determined to have the lowest levels of intra-population variation among E. caninus morphologies. These lower levels may be due to selection factors, population bottlenecks, genetic drift, or a combination of the bunch.[4]
While generally a self-pollinating perennial, the rate of outcrossing varies among Elymus caninus populations. This outcrossing occurs when the species florets are open during anthesis.[4] Researchers determined that when E. caninus is grown near or among other Elymus species (specifically studied were E. mutabilis and E. fibrosus), hybridization occurred and these hybrids were mainly found to be sterile. Populations of E. caninus grown among other Elymus species showed higher levels of variation when compared to populations grown alone. This finding shows that gene flow may be occurring between the Elymus species’ and that the gene flow is one-sided (E. mutabilis to E. caninus).[4]
Backing up the one-sided gene flow into Elymus caninus, an introgression study of Triticum aestivum into E. caninus populations was performed in order to determine if a hybridization would occur in which no spontaneous hybridizations were shown. This concludes that an introgression of the T. aestivum traits into the E. caninus population were improbable, disregarding the fact that these populations tend to grow in the same vicinity.[5]
Being an allotetraploid, E. caninus derives its genome (StStHH) from both new and old world Pseudoroegneria (St) as well as from the small-seeded Hordeum (H) species.[1] A study completed in 1999 concluded that the fixed heterozygosity without segregation leads to the conclusion that E. caninus is allotetraploid by nature. A fixed heterozygosity occurs when the diploid parental genomes are homozygous for different alleles, and this trait has been reported in other Elymus species.[4]
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- ^ a b Jensen, Kevin B. "Cytology and Fertility of Advanced Populations of (Scribn. & Smith) Gould × (L.) L. Hybrids". Crop Science. 45 (4). doi:10.2135/cropsci2004.0235.
- ^ Yan, Chi; Sun, Genlou. "Multiple origins of allopolyploid wheatgrass Elymus caninus revealed by RPB2, PepC and TrnD/T genes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 64 (3): 441–451. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.04.017.
- ^ Mizianty, M. (2005-03-10). "Variability and structure of natural populations of Elymus caninus (L.) L. based on morphology". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 251 (2–4): 199–216. doi:10.1007/s00606-004-0262-8. ISSN 0378-2697.
- ^ a b c d Díaz, Oscar; Salomon, Björn; Bothmer, Roland Von. "Genetic Diversity and Structure in Populations of Elymus Caninus (L.) L. (Poaceae)". Hereditas. 131 (1): 63–74. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1999.00063.x.
- ^ Guadagnuolo, R.; Savova-Bianchi, D.; Keller-Senften, J.; Felber, F. "Search for evidence of introgression of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) traits into sea barley ( Hordeum marinum s.str. Huds.) and bearded wheatgrass ( Elymus caninus L.) in central and northern Europe, using isozymes, RAPD and microsatellite markers". TAG Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 103 (2–3): 191–196. doi:10.1007/s001220100635.