Lowland Switchgrass Plants in Populations Set Completely Outcrossed Seeds Under Field Conditions as Assessed with SSR Markers

Abstract

Switchgrass has long been characterized as an outcrossing species. However, mating behavior of plants in populations grown in the field allowing open pollination has not been documented. Accordingly, the objectives of this study were to determine the fertilization mode (i.e., selfing vs. outcrossing) of two self-compatible plants and to assess the mating behavior variability of lowland switchgrass genotypes in populations under field conditions. In Experiment I, two self-compatible genotypes ‘NL94 LYE 16 × 13’ and ‘SL93 7 × 15’ along with two populations were planted with two replications on the OSU Agronomy Research Farm, Stillwater, OK. Sixty-four progeny derived from half-sib seeds of each genotype per replication per year were genotyped with 4 to 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. In both 2010 and 2011, all progeny plants of the two parents were completely outcrossed exhibiting 100 % self-incompatibility. In Experiment II, two genetically narrow-based (NL94 C2-3 and SL93 C2-3), each having five parents, and two broad-based (NL94 C3 and SL93 C3), each comprising 26 parents, switchgrass populations with three replications were field established at the OSU Cimarron Valley Research Station, Perkins, OK. The DNA samples were isolated from 1700 open-pollinated progeny of 62 seed parents in 2010 and 773 progeny of 42 parents in 2011. Among all the progeny genotyped with eight to 16 SSR markers, only one was identified as a selfed progeny, indicating very little variability in outcrossing behavior under the field conditions. The identification of specific genotypes like NL94 LYE 16 × 13 and SL93 7 × 15 which are self-incompatible in the open field but self-compatible under the controlled conditions potentially enables efficient production of F1 hybrid seed in switchgrass.