The comparison of polymorphism among Avena species revealed by retrotransposon-based DNA markers and soluble carbohydrates in seeds

Here, we compared the polymorphism among 13 Avena species revealed by the iPBS markers and soluble carbohydrate profiles in seeds. The application of seven iPBS markers generated 83 bands, out of which 20.5% were polymorphic. No species-specific bands were scored. Shannon's information index (I) and expected heterozygosity (H-e) revealed low genetic diversity, with the highest values observed for A. nuda (I = 0.099; He = 0.068). UPGMA clustering of studied Avena accessions and PCoA results showed that the polyploidy level is the main grouping criterion. High-resolution gas chromatography revealed that the studied Avena accessions share the same composition of soluble carbohydrates, but significant differences in the content of total (5.30-22.38 mg g(-1) of dry weight) and particular sugars among studied samples were observed. Sucrose appeared as the most abundant sugar (mean 61.52% of total soluble carbohydrates), followed by raffinose family oligosaccharides (31.23%), myo-inositol and its galactosides (6.16%), and monosaccharides (1.09%). The pattern of interspecific variation in soluble carbohydrates, showed by PCA, was convergent to that revealed by iPBS markers. Thus, both methods appeared as a source of valuable data useful in the characterization of Avena resources or in the discussion on the evolution of this genus.

Automated summary

In this study, 13 Avena species were compared for polymorphism using iPBS markers and soluble carbohydrate profiles. The iPBS markers generated 83 bands, with 20.5% exhibiting polymorphism. No species-specific bands were found. Low genetic diversity was observed, with the highest values for A. nuda. The clustering analysis and PCoA results showed the main criterion for grouping to be the polyploidy level. High-resolution gas chromatography revealed similar compositions of soluble carbohydrates, but significant differences in content among the studied samples. The pattern of interspecific variation in soluble carbohydrates was consistent with the iPBS marker results, providing valuable data for characterizing Avena resources and discussing the evolution of this genus.