Plant & Animal Genomes XVI Conference

January 12-16, 2008
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

DArT Marker Development And Applications In Oat

Nicholas A. Tinker¹ , Andrzej Kilian ² , Eric Jackson³ , The OAT DArT Consortium⁴

¹  AAFC-ECORC, Bldg 20, C.E.F., 960 Carling Ave. Ottawa ON. K1A 0C6

²  USDA-ARS, Aberdeen, 1691 South 2700 West, Aberdeen, ID 83210 USA

³  DArT P/L, 1 Wilf Crane Crescent, Yarralumla, ACT 2600, Australia

⁴  In addition to the three corresponding authors, the following have contributed to this research through active participation in the Oat DArT Consortium: Steve Molnar, Charlene Wight (AAFC, Ottawa, Canada); Brian Rossnagel, Graham Scoles, Peter Eckstein (CDC, Univ. Sask., Canada); Howard Rines, Marty Carson, Deon Stuthman (USDA & Univ. Minnesota); Mark Sorrells, Jean-Luc Jannink (USDA & Cornell Univ, NY); Stine Tuvesson, Alf Ceplitis, Rickard Jonsson (Svalöf Weibull, Sweden); Catherine Howarth, Tim Langdon (IGER, UK); Don Obert, Mike Bonman (USDA, Aberdeen, ID); Herb Ohm, Joe Anderson (USDA & Purdue Univ., IN); Åsmund Bjørnstad (NULS, Norway); Olof Olsson, Marcus Bräutigam (Göteborg Univ. and CropTailor AB, Sweden); Luiz Federrizi (UFRGS, Brazil); Fred Kolb (Univ. Illinois)

Progress of genomic research in oat has been limited by a lack of common markers and consensus maps that would provide integration platforms for structural genomic analysis. Diversity Array Technology (DArT) is a strategy that provides a high density of molecular markers that can be tested in parallel for a reasonable cost. In addition to providing tools for large-scale collaborations, such as association analysis, these markers will enable smaller and more focused studies to be integrated into a complete knowledge base of oat genomics. An international consortium of researchers from 13 institutions⁴ has collaborated with DArT P/L in Australia² to develop the groundwork for DArT markers in oat. We have identified and cloned approximately 2000 selectively-amplified DNA fragments that show polymorphism in a panel of 200 cultivated oat varieties. Of these, approximately 1000 have been mapped in the Kanota x Ogle RI population. An additional 2000 clones showed polymorphism in a sample of 16 accessions from related oat species. We will present an analysis of genetic diversity based on DArT markers, and an updated Kanota x Ogle genetic map. We will discuss how this work can enhance parallel efforts in oat SSR development, and we will propose new strategies by which the oat research community can develop and utilize improved, physically-anchored consensus maps.