Isolation and characterization of chromosomal markers in .

BACKGROUND

L. is a turf grass and forage crop used worldwide. Being a facultative apomictic species, has a highly variable chromosome number. Chromosomal markers constitute a powerful tool for chromosome identification and for various aspects of genomic research. However, currently, no chromosomal markers are available for .

RESULTS

Four novel chromosome markers were isolated from a screen of Cot-1 DNA libraries, combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in . Three tandemly repetitive sequences (TR-1, TR-2, and TR-3) were characterized as subtelomeric. Monomers of 318 bp, 189 bp and 189 bp were identified in TR-1, TR-2, and TR-3, respectively. One tandemly repetitive sequence (CR-1) was shown to be centromeric or pericentromeric, and it had a monomer of 27 bp. The distribution patterns of TR-1, TR-2, and TR-3 were highly conserved across different cultivars and in the distantly related species, whereas CR-1 was conserved across different cultivars, but less conserved across species.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we report the identification and characterization of four novel chromosomal markers in . These chromosomal markers are powerful tools for accurate assessment of chromosome count, genomic and phylogenetic analyses, as well as studies of apomixis in