Plant & Animal Genomes XV Conference

January 13-17, 2007
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Developing Brachypodium Resources And Methods: EST Sequencing, SSLP Markers, Improved Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation And EMS Mutagenesis

John P. Vogel , Yong Q. Gu , Daniel M. Hayden , Gerard R. Lazo , Theresa A. Hill , Naxin Huo , Christian M. Tobias , Olin D. Anderson , Debbie Laudencia-Chingcuanco , Rita Nieu

  USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA, 94710, USA

Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) has been proposed as a model grass because its physical, genetic, and genome attributes (small stature, simple growth requirements, small genome size, availability of diploid ecotypes, annual lifecycle and self fertility) are suitable for a model plant system. As part of our effort to promote the development of Brachypodium into a powerful model system, we continue to develop tools that will enable Brachypodium researchers. To this end, we have developed an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system, sequenced 20,440 ESTs and deposited them into Genbank, identified SSLP markers and evaluated the efficacy of EMS mutagenesis on a diploid line (Bd21-3) that can be transformed. This poster will present an update on these projects including: An improvement in the co-cultivation step of the transformation protocol that dramatically improves the transformation rate of Bd21-3. The identification of microsatellites in 20,440 EST sequences and 40,000 BAC end sequences. The identification of 285 SSLP markers that are polymorphic between at least two of the five diploid accessions tested. An evaluation of EMS as a mutagen for Brachypodium based on six concentrations of EMS.