Genetic Diversity of Tall Fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) Cultivars and Collections Using Chloroplast Microsatellite (cpSSR) Markers

Hexaploid tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) is an important cool-season grass species that is used for turf and forage applications. Turf-type tall fescue is highly suitable for home lawns and sports fields due to its superior drought, heat tolerance, and fine texture.  The objective of this study is to show the relatedness of cultivars and collections based on the chloroplast genome. Complete genomic DNA was extracted from 106 tall fescue cultivars and 65 tall fescue collections (16 individual samples to represent each cultivar or collection) with Lolium perenne (1 cultivar), Lolium multiflorum (2 accessions), Lolium arudinaceum spp. fenas (3 accessions), and Lolium pretense (2 accessions) as outgroups. Primers were developed based on the published tall fescue chloroplast genome (GenBank NC_011713.2).  Each individual was genotyped using 13 chloroplast genomic microsatellite (cpSSR) markers. PCR product size from each individual was assessed using capillary electrophoresis (Applied Biosystems 3500 xl Genetic Analyzer). This information, along with nuclear genomic data, can be used to better understand the evolutionary history of tall fescue, an allopolyploid.