Patent Grant
9456561
The invention relates to methods and compositions for producing alfalfa plants that tolerate the presence of aluminum in soil.
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa subsp. sativa) is the most important forage legume in the United States. Alfalfa is tetraploid, having 4 homoeologous chromosomes for each of the 8 different chromosomes, for a total of 32 chromosomes. It is highly desirable for hay production and pasture for livestock because it produces more protein per hectare than grain or oilseed crops, and requires little or no nitrogen fertilizer because of its ability to carry out symbiotic nitrogen fixation. However, alfalfa is very sensitive to aluminum toxicity.
Aluminum (“Al”) toxicity causes similar symptoms in many plant species. Micromolar concentrations of Al+3 can damage the root system, sometimes within minutes of exposure. Damage to the root system then significantly reduces yields due to an insufficient intake of water and other nutrients. Heavy applications of limestone and P fertilizer are commonly used to prevent yield loss, but these amendments are often not economical or practical.
In a first aspect, there is provided a method for producing an aluminum tolerant alfalfa line or increasing the aluminum tolerance of an alfalfa line comprising introgres sing at least one chromosomal locus contributing to aluminum tolerance from a parent alfalfa plant into an alfalfa line. For example, the parent alfalfa plant may be an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant, such as a plant that displays a reduction in one or more symptoms of aluminum toxicity relative to a control plant when the plant is in contact with aluminum (e.g., a 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 90% reduction). Symptoms of aluminum toxicity that may be reduced in resistant plants include, but are not limited to, reduction or inhibition of root growth, increase in susceptibility to drought, nutrient deficiency, decreased yield, and leaf chlorosis and/or necrosis. In certain embodiments, the chromosomal locus maps between loci MTIC95-146A and BG285-309A, MtBA36F01F1-126A and BG181-164A, BF228-153 and AL81-228, or MTIC84-18793 and BG234-251A on linkage group 1; between loci RCS5744-229B33 and 1e04.tatc.4-1-232A or MTIC124-179B and MTIC169-113 on linkage group 3; between loci MTIC94-13538B and Mstir12038-216, AW347-324A and BF184-28404, 1a09ggt5-1-252B and BG171-192, Mstri10127-123 and BF71-229, Mstri11701-17389 and 1g05tct12-1-277, RCS4310-272B and MTIC332-1485860, or AL84-156A64A and Mstir11989-111 on linkage group 4; between loci TC105099-111 and 2c12.gga.5-1-165A, TC106861 and Mstri10743-120, Mstir10801-446A and Mstri10743-120, or AW389-482 and BG157-154 on linkage group 5; between loci BI98-15458A and 8E92-199 or MTIC250-133 and 3d03.atc.5-1-239B244 on linkage group 6; or between loci BG119-270 and MTIC183-170B or AW212-245A65 and BF26-289A96A04A on linkage group 7 (see e.g., marker maps provided in
In some aspects, a method according to the invention comprises: (a) crossing a plant within the Medicago genus having aluminum tolerance with a Medicago sativa plant lacking substantial aluminum tolerance to form a first population; (b) selecting one or more members of said population having aluminum tolerance; and (c) backcrossing progeny obtained to plants of a Medicago sativa variety otherwise lacking the aluminum tolerance to obtain an introgressed variety comprising aluminum tolerance. In certain embodiments, steps (b) and (c) may be repeated until an aluminum tolerance trait has been introgressed into the genetic background of a plant line that initially lacked aluminum tolerance such that the introgressed plant comprises less than about 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%, or 1% genomic material from the initial aluminum tolerant plant. In some embodiments, the initial cross of step (a) further comprises using embryo rescue to form said first population. In certain embodiments, the steps are repeated about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more times.
In certain aspects, a less-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa line is an agronomically elite line. For example, the less-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa line may be a commercial Medicago sativa line, such as a line that is used to produce alfalfa hay or silage. The less aluminum tolerant alfalfa line may be a hybrid or inbred line. In certain specific embodiments, the less-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa line is any commercial variety that is well known to one skilled in the art.
In some aspects a less-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa parent plant or line may contribute loci that enhance aluminum tolerance in progeny lines. For example, in some cases, the less-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa parent plant is a Medicago sativa NECS-141 plant. Loci contributing to aluminum tolerance that may be introgressed from such a parent plant include, but are not limited to, chromosomal loci mapping between BF228-153 and AL81-228 on linkage group 1; between 1a09ggt5-1-252B and BG171-192, Mstri10127-123 and BF71-229, Mstri11701-17389 and 1g05tct12-1-277, or RCS4310-272B and MTIC332-1485860 on linkage group 4; or between MTIC250-133 and 3d03.atc.5-1-239B244 on linkage group 6.
In some aspects, a more-aluminum-tolerant plant is another member of the Medicago genus, other than Medicago sativa L., such as Medicago truncatula or Medicago trifolium. The plant may be a wild plant, or a hybrid or inbred line. In certain embodiments, the more-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa plant is Medicago sativa ssp. caerulea accession PI464724-25. In certain other embodiments the more-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa plant is a plant other than Medicago sativa ssp. caerulea accession PI464724-25. Loci contributing to aluminum tolerance that may be introgressed from a more aluminum tolerant parent plant include, but are not limited to, chromosomal loci mapping between MTIC95-146A and BG285-309A, MtBA36F01F1-126A and BG181-164A, or MTIC84-18793 and BG234-251A on linkage group 1; between RCS5744-229B33 and 1e04.tatc.4-1-232A or MTIC124-179B and MTIC169-113 on linkage group 3; between MTIC94-13538B and Mstir12038-216, AW347-324A and BF184-28404, or AL84-156A64A and Mstir11989-111 on linkage group 4; between TC105099-111 and 2c12.gga.5-1-165A, TC106861 and Mstri10743-120, Mstir10801-446A and Mstri10743-120, or AW389-482 and BG157-154 on linkage group 5; between B198-15458A and 8E92-199 on linkage group 6; or between BG119-270 and MTIC183-170B or AW212-245A65 and BF26-289A96A04A on linkage group 7.
In a further aspect, there is provided a method for introgressing aluminum tolerance into an alfalfa line by marker-assisted selection using a marker linked to a chromosomal locus that contributes to aluminum tolerance in an alfalfa plant. In certain embodiments, the marker may be a marker that detects chromosomal insertions, deletions or other polymorphisms, such as simple sequence repeats and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In certain embodiments, a marker for use according to the invention is between markers MTIC95-146A and BG285-309A, MtBA36F01F1-126A and BG181-164A, BF228-153 and AL81-228, or MTIC84-18793 and BG234-251A on linkage group 1; between RCS5744-229B33 and 1e04.tatc.4-1-232A or MTIC124-179B and MTIC169-113 on linkage group 3; between MTIC94-13538B and Mstir12038-216, AW347-324A and BF184-28404, 1a09ggt5-1-252B and BG171-192, Mstri10127-123 and BF71-229, Mstri11701-17389 and 1g05tct12-1-277, RCS4310-272B and MTIC332-1485860, or AL84-156A64A and Mstir11989-111 on linkage group 4; between TC105099-111 and 2c12.gga.5-1-165A, TC106861 and Mstri10743-120, Mstir10801-446A and Mstri10743-120, or AW389-482 and BG157-154 on linkage group 5; between BI98-15458A and 8E92-199 or MTIC250-133 and 3d03.atc.5-1-239B244 on linkage group 6; or between BG119-270 and MTIC183-170B or AW212-245A65 and BF26-289A96A04A on linkage group 7. For example, the marker may be one of the markers detectable by one of the primer pairs provided in Table 1 or Table 5 (SEQ ID NOs:1-560).
In still a further aspect, there is provided an alfalfa line produced by methods according to the invention, wherein the line comprises aluminum tolerance and is agronomically elite. Progeny of such plants comprising aluminum tolerance and an agronomically elite phenotype are also included as part of the invention.
In yet a further aspect, the invention provides an alfalfa plant comprising aluminum tolerance wherein the plant is agronomically elite. For example, the alfalfa plant may be an inbred or hybrid plant. A tolerant alfalfa plant may display a reduction in one or more symptom of aluminum toxicity. Symptoms that may be reduced in a tolerant plant include, but are not limited to, reduction or inhibition of root growth, increase in susceptibility to drought, nutrient deficiency, decreased yield, and leaf chlorosis and/or necrosis. Progeny of such plants comprising aluminum tolerance and an agronomically elite phenotype are also included as part of the invention. Likewise, seeds of plants according to the invention are also provided wherein the seeds produce agronomically elite plants comprising aluminum tolerance. Transgenic alfalfa plants are also provided as part of the instant invention. In certain embodiments, the invention provides parts of a plant according to the invention. Plant parts included but are not limited to a leaf, an ovule, pollen or a cell.
Plants according to the invention may be homozygous or heterozygous for a chromosomal locus linked to an aluminum tolerance phenotype. In further embodiments, the invention provides a seed of a plant according to the invention wherein the seed comprises a chromosomal locus linked to aluminum tolerance.
In still a further aspect, an alfalfa plant according to the instant invention comprises at least one additional trait of agronomic interest.
In yet another aspect, a tissue culture of regenerable cells of an alfalfa plant according to the invention is provided. The tissue culture may be capable of regenerating alfalfa plants capable of expressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of the starting plant (e.g., aluminum tolerance), and of regenerating plants having substantially the same genotype as the starting plant. The regenerable cells in such tissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed, or stalks. In still further embodiments, the invention provides alfalfa plants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention wherein the plants comprise aluminum tolerance.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing progeny of a plant according to the invention, the method comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from an aluminum tolerant plant, wherein said preparing comprises crossing a plant according to the invention with a second plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or a second plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation. In further embodiments, the method may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation and crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself or a second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10 generations to produce further progeny plants. The derived plant may be an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may be defined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line. In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plants resulting from step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). By selecting plants having one or more desirable traits, an aluminum tolerant plant is obtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of the line/hybrid as well as potentially other selected traits.
In still a further aspect there is provided a method of vegetatively propagating an alfalfa plant according to the invention comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from a plant according to the invention; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; (c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets; and, optionally, (d) growing plants from the rooted plantlets.
In certain aspects, the present invention provides a method of producing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant according to the invention, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting plant tissue from the plant. Plants according to the invention comprise, in certain aspects, a commercial alfalfa variety comprising aluminum tolerance. Accordingly, alfalfa produced from such plants may be of any variety.
In further aspects, the invention provides a method of making a commercial product comprising obtaining alfalfa according the invention and producing a commercial product therefrom.
Embodiments discussed in the context of methods and/or compositions of the invention may be employed with respect to any other method or composition described herein. Thus, an embodiment pertaining to one method or composition may be applied to other methods and compositions of the invention as well.
As used herein the terms “encode” or “encoding” with reference to a nucleic acid are used to make the invention readily understandable by the skilled artisan, however these terms may be used interchangeably with “comprise” or “comprising” respectively.
As used herein the specification, “a” or “an” may mean one or more. As used herein in the claim(s), when used in conjunction with the word “comprising”, the words “a” or “an” may mean one or more than one.
The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” As used herein “another” may mean at least a second or more.
Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.
The invention provides alfalfa exhibiting tolerance or enhanced tolerance to aluminum. Such plants can be referred to as aluminum tolerant alfalfa varieties. Methods of producing aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants are also provided. Also disclosed herein are methods of use and derivatives of the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants. These findings can be used to enable implementation of effective molecular breeding strategies through SNP genotyping and other high-throughput platforms to accelerate the development of alfalfa cultivars with desirable agronomic characteristics that are adapted to a range of growing conditions, and are productive in acid and Al toxic soils.
The aluminum tolerant Medicago sativa alfalfa plants of the invention may bear one or more alleles conferring aluminum tolerance that have been introduced from other members of the Medicago genus employing techniques described herein. According to the invention, such traits may be introduced, for the first time, into agronomically elite varieties. Likewise, loci that contribute to aluminum tolerance have been identified in less-aluminum-tolerant plants. These loci can be introgressed or maintained in a line to enhance aluminum tolerance. Aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants of the present invention may thus display vigorous growth and other desirable properties for cultivation.
The invention also provides methods for introgression of aluminum tolerance into an alfalfa line. Through multiple rounds of backcrossing, chromosomal loci linked to aluminum tolerance may be introgressed into any other genotype according to the invention. This allows production of agronomically elite plants with aluminum tolerance. The backcrossing allows recovery of a starting genotype together with the desired aluminum tolerance alleles. For example, aluminum tolerant lines may comprise a genome that is 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, or more Medicago sativa L. sequence from any particular background. Aluminum tolerant plants according to the invention may be defined, in certain embodiments, as “locus converted plants,” wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a variety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the single locus transferred into the variety via a backcrossing or by genetic transformation. Such lines may be heterozygous for chromosomal loci linked to aluminum tolerance or may be homozygous for such loci. Homozygous lines may have particular use, for example, as parents for selfing to produce inbred seed or crossing with a second elite alfalfa line for generating hybrid alfalfa seed.
Introgression of aluminum tolerance in accordance with the invention may be affected by marker-assisted selection. In particular, the invention provides genetic markers genetically linked to alleles conferring aluminum tolerance. Thus, tracking of markers linked to these loci allows efficient identification of progeny plants harboring aluminum tolerance. High-throughput breeding techniques using marker-assisted selection can be used to rapidly introgress loci into an agronomically elite background and thereby produce commercially viable aluminum tolerant lines. Introgression of aluminum tolerance in alfalfa may also be performed by genomic selection. Genomic selection (GS) predicts the breeding values of lines in a population by analyzing their phenotypes and marker scores (Heffner et al., Crop Sci. 49:1-12, 2009). GS incorporates all marker information in the prediction model, thus avoiding biased estimates of the marker effect and capturing more of the variation due to small effect quantitative trait loci (QTL).
As used herein, an “agronomically elite” alfalfa plant or line refers to plants or varieties exhibiting traits appropriate for commercial production, which are well known to those of skill in the art. For example, agronomically elite plants are capable of producing a commercial scale hay or silage yield. In certain aspects, agronomically elite plants and lines produce alfalfa of uniform size, color and quality. Agronomically elite lines may also exhibit desirable hardiness traits, such as disease resistance, cold tolerance, environmental stress tolerance, persistence, forage quality, and nutrient utilization, or use traits such as improved harvestability.
As used herein, a “control alfalfa plant” is any alfalfa plant susceptible to aluminum (aluminum susceptible), including typical commercially available and wild relatives of modern alfalfa plants. A control alfalfa plant is also grown under similar environmental conditions to a test plant according to the present disclosure.
As used herein, a “hybrid alfalfa plant” includes a plant resulting directly or indirectly from crosses between populations, breeds or cultivars within the species Medicago sativa. This also refers to plants resulting directly or indirectly from crosses between different species within the Medicago genus (e.g., interspecific hybrids resulting from crosses between Medicago sativa and Medicago truncatula or crosses between Medicago sativa and Medicago trifolium).
As used herein an “aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant” displays an increased tolerance to aluminum, or a decrease in the development of symptoms of aluminum susceptibility, when compared to the parental Medicago sativa plant or a control alfalfa line grown under similar environmental conditions.
As used herein, a descendent or progeny of a particular plant includes not only, without limitation, the products of any initial cross (be it a backcross or otherwise) between two plants, but all descendants whose pedigree traces back to the original cross. In an aspect of the present invention, the descendent contains about 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 6%, 3%, 1%, or less nuclear DNA from an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant and expresses that genetic material to provide at least a portion of the plant's aluminum tolerance.
Aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants also include alfalfa cultivars, lines or varieties having tolerance to aluminum, referred to herein as aluminum tolerant alfalfa cultivars, aluminum tolerant alfalfa lines, or aluminum tolerant alfalfa varieties respectively. Aluminum tolerant alfalfa cultivars, aluminum tolerant alfalfa lines, or aluminum tolerant alfalfa varieties may have been bred and selected for at least aluminum tolerance and may also have been selected for other desirable traits.
As used herein, a “female parent” refers to an alfalfa plant that is the recipient of pollen from a male donor line, which successfully pollinates an egg. A female parent can be any alfalfa plant that is the recipient of pollen. Such female parents can be male sterile, for example, because of genetic male sterility, cytoplasmic male sterility, or because they have been subject to emasculation of the stamens. Genetic or cytoplasmic male sterility can be manifested in different manners, such as sterile pollen, malformed or stamenless flowers, positional sterility, and functional sterility.
As used herein, “cytoplasmic male sterility” refers to plants that are not usually capable of breeding from self-pollination, but are capable of breeding from cross-pollination.
As used herein, “linkage” or “genetic linkage” is a phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend to segregate together more often than expected by chance if their transmission was independent.
As used herein, a “marker” is an indicator for the presence of at least one phenotype, genotype, or polymorphism. Markers include, but are not limited to, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), cleavable amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), simple sequence repeats (SSRs), simple sequence length polymorphisms (SSLPs), insertion(s)/deletion(s) (INDEL(s)), and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) sequences. A marker may be codominant and completely heritable (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygote are readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e., heritability of 1. A “nucleic acid marker” as used herein means a nucleic acid molecule that is capable of being a marker for detecting a polymorphism, phenotype, or both associated with aluminum tolerance. A “molecular marker” as used herein means a nucleic acid molecule that is capable of being a marker for detecting a polymorphism, phenotype, or both associated with aluminum tolerance. Genetic maps and markers for use in alfalfa are known in the art (Brummer et al., Theor Appl Genet 86:329-332, 1993; Echt et al., Genome 37:61-711993; Kiss et al., Mol Gen Genet 238:129-137, 1993; Brower et al., Crop Sci 40:1387-1396, 2000; Robins et al., Crop Sci 48:1780-1786, 2008; Robins et al., Crop Sci 47 1-10, 2007).
As used herein, a “desirable trait” or “desirable traits” that may be introduced into aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants by breeding may be directed to the alfalfa plant. Desirable alfalfa plant traits that may be independently selected include, but are not limited to, plant vigor, leaf shape, leaf length, leaf color, plant height, time to maturity, adaptation to field growth, persistance, forage quality, and resistance to one or more diseases or disease causing organisms. Any combination of desirable alfalfa traits may be combined with aluminum tolerance.
The present invention provides for one or more aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants. The aluminum tolerance of any alfalfa plant provided herein can be a tolerance to high concentrations of aluminum or a tolerance to low concentrations of aluminum, wherein either the high or low concentration of aluminum would cause symptoms in a non-aluminum-tolerant alfalfa plant. The aluminum tolerance of an alfalfa plant provided herein can be measured by any means available in the art.
In one aspect, the aluminum tolerance of an alfalfa plant is determined using a callus or tissue culture assay. The assay may comprise inducing callus formation, transferring one part of the induced callus to a growth medium comprising aluminum, and a second part of the callus to a growth medium which does not comprise aluminum. The growth medium may be Blaydes callus induction medium, and the callus may be grown in controlled growth chambers at 25° C. and with an 18-hour light photoperiod. The assay may further comprise weighing the callus. The assay may further comprise comparing the relative weights or amount of growth between the two parts of the callus.
In another aspect, the aluminum tolerance of an alfalfa plant is determined using a whole-plant culture media assay. The assay may comprise growing vegetatively propagated alfalfa clones or stem cuttings in culture media comprising 400 μM CaCl2, 1.4% gel rite, 0 or 50 μM Al+3 in the form of AlCl3, and pH 7.0 or 4.0 adjusted using 1 N HCl, and the alfalfa may be grown in controlled-environment growth chambers at 25° C. with an 18-hour light photoperiod.
Root growth may be quantified using winRHIZO® software (Regent Instruments, Québec, Canada) to determine aluminum tolerance. For example, total root length, lateral root numbers, and branching may be quantified. The absolute root growth and ratio of root characteristics (biomass, length, and branching) after 3 weeks of growth in either aluminum-containing media or aluminum-free media may also be used for determining aluminum tolerance.
In another aspect, the alfalfa plants and lines provided herein demonstrate little or no aluminum toxicity symptoms after treatment with aluminum. In some aspects, an aluminum tolerant alfalfa genotype demonstrates aluminum toxicity symptoms in less than 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3% 2%, or 1% of alfalfa plants of that genotype.
Aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants may exhibit a delay in the onset of aluminum toxicity symptoms relative to a non-tolerant control alfalfa plant. In some embodiments, the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants exhibit a delay of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or more days in the onset of aluminum toxicity symptoms relative to a control alfalfa plant. In other embodiments, the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants exhibit a delay of at least 7 or more days, 10 or more days, or 14 or more days in the onset of aluminum toxicity symptoms relative to a control alfalfa plant.
In one aspect, the alfalfa plant is a seedling at the time of aluminum exposure. In some aspects, the alfalfa plant is a seedling at the trifoliate leaf stage of development at the time of aluminum exposure. In one aspect, aluminum toxicity symptoms can be measured at any time after aluminum exposure of an alfalfa plant. In other aspects, symptoms can be measured 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, or more days after exposure. In another aspect, the alfalfa plant is any age of plant at the time of exposure.
In another aspect, the alfalfa plant is a callus at the time of aluminum exposure. In some aspects, the callus has been allowed to form for about two weeks in Blaydes callus induction medium before exposure. In one aspect, aluminum toxicity symptoms can be measured at any time after aluminum exposure of an alfalfa callus. In other aspects, symptoms can be measured 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, or more weeks after exposure. In another aspect, the alfalfa callus is any age of callus at the time of exposure.
In another aspect, the alfalfa plant is a vegetatively propagated alfalfa clone or stem cutting at the time of aluminum exposure. In some aspects, the vegetatively propagated alfalfa clone or stem cutting has been allowed to develop in medium comprising 400 μM CaCl2, 1.4% gel rite, 0 or 50 μM Al+3 in the form of AlCl3 before exposure. In one aspect, aluminum toxicity symptoms can be measured at any time after aluminum exposure of an alfalfa plant. In other aspects, symptoms can be measured 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, or more days after exposure. In another aspect, the alfalfa plant is any age of plant at the time of exposure.
Aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants of the present invention may exhibit an increase in callus relative growth ratios after exposure to aluminum when compared to the relative growth rate of a control alfalfa callus exposed to aluminum. In one aspect, the aluminum tolerant alfalfa callus exhibit a 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or more increase in callus relative growth ratio relative to a control alfalfa plant after exposure to aluminum.
The present invention provides for a seed of an alfalfa plant capable of producing an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant. In one aspect, the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant can be an open-pollinated variety, a hybrid parent inbred line, or a male sterile line.
The aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants of the present invention can be aluminum tolerant alfalfa lines adapted for field alfalfa production or any other growing environment. In one aspect, the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants of the present invention are adapted for open field alfalfa production.
The present invention also provides for an intra-specific hybrid alfalfa plant having aluminum tolerance developed from aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants. In another aspect, those intra-specific hybrid alfalfa plants exhibit aluminum tolerance after exposure to aluminum.
Agronomically elite alfalfa plants appropriate for use in a commercial production field represent various aspects of the present invention. In one aspect, certain alfalfa traits, including, for example, hay or silage quality, may be important to the commercial value of the crop.
A further aspect of the invention relates to tissue cultures of the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants described herein. As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a composition comprising isolated cells of one or more types, or a collection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Tissue culture includes, but is not limited to, compositions comprising protoplasts and calli. Tissue culture also includes, but is not limited to, compositions comprising plant cells that are present in intact plant tissues, or parts of plants, such as embryo, leaf, peduncle, pedicel, anther, meristem, tip and segments of root, stump and stem, explants, and the like. In one aspect, a tissue culture comprises embryos, protoplasts, meristematic cells, pollen, leaves, anthers, or cells derived from immature tissues of these plant parts. Means for preparing and maintaining plant tissue cultures are well known in the art. Examples of processes of tissue culturing and regeneration of alfalfa are described in, for example, Parrot and Bouton, Crop Sci., (1990) 30:387-389. In some aspects, tissue culture of the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants described herein relates to the culture of protoplasts, calli, or plant cells, that are isolated from, or present in, intact parts of the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants described herein. In another aspect, tissue culture refers to the culture of protoplasts, calli, or plant cells, that are isolated from, or present in, intact parts of one or more aluminum tolerant plants selected from the group consisting of Altet1, Altet2, Altet3, and/or Altet4, and aluminum tolerant descendants thereof, including those produced by crosses or backcrosses. In yet another aspect, tissue culture of the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants described herein relates to the culture of protoplasts, calli, or plant cells, that are isolated from, or present in, intact parts of the aluminum tolerant plants described herein.
Once aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants are produced, the plants themselves can be cultivated in accordance with conventional procedures. Aluminum tolerant descendants of aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants may be obtained through sexual reproduction. The seeds resulting from sexual reproduction can be recovered from the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants and planted or otherwise grown as a means of propagation. Aluminum tolerant descendants may also be obtained from aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants through asexual reproduction. Protoplast or propagules (e.g., cuttings, scions, or rootstocks) can be recovered from aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants, or parts thereof, and may be employed to propagate aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants.
The present invention also provides for and includes a container of alfalfa seeds in which alfalfa plants grown from greater than 50% of the seeds have resistance or partial aluminum tolerance. In another aspect, alfalfa plants grown from greater than 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, or 99% of the alfalfa seeds in the container have aluminum tolerance. Another aspect of the invention relates to seeds from an alfalfa plant selected from the group consisting of Altet1, Altet2, Altet3, Altet4, and aluminum tolerant descendents thereof, wherein alfalfa plants grown from about 50%, or greater than 50%, of the seeds have resistance or partial aluminum tolerance.
The container of alfalfa seeds can contain any number, weight or volume of seeds. For example, a container can contain about, or greater than about, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, or more seeds. In another aspect, a container can contain about, or greater than about, 1 gram, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, or 1,000 grams of seeds. Alternatively, the container can contain about or at least, or greater than, about 1 ounce, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ounces, 1 pound, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 pounds or more of seeds.
Containers of alfalfa seeds can be any container available in the art. For example, a container can be a box, a bag, a packet, a pouch, a tape roll, a foil, a pail, or a tube.
One aspect of the invention relates to dried, or otherwise processed alfalfa hay, produced by an alfalfa plant having a genome that comprises at least one genetic locus giving rise to aluminum tolerance when expressed in an alfalfa plant. Processed alfalfa can be in the form of, but is not limited to, hay, silage, haylage, fermented hay, or greenchop. In some aspects, the dried, or otherwise processed alfalfa, is from an alfalfa plant selected from one or more of the group consisting of Altet1, Altet2, Altet3 and/or Altet4, and aluminum tolerant descendents thereof.
The present invention includes and provides for Medicago sativa plants having at least one allele for an aluminum tolerance trait. The aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants can be either heterozygous or homozygous for the aluminum tolerance trait. In one embodiment, the aluminum tolerance trait can be linked to variations in a single gene (e.g., linked to one or more alleles of a single gene). In another embodiment, the aluminum tolerance trait can be linked to variations at one or one or more quantitative trait loci (QTL). In a yet another embodiment, the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants are homozygous for the aluminum tolerance trait. In one aspect, the genetic loci derived from an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant can be identified using genetic markers.
The present invention provides for an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant having less than or equal to 50% of its genome derived from a non-M. sativa aluminum tolerant plant that can be crossed directly, or indirectly (e.g., through tissue culture manipulation, or through the use of a bridging species) with Medicago sativa. The present invention also provides for descendents of alfalfa plants having aluminum tolerance.
One aspect of the present invention provides for an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant that contains a genetic marker or a complement to a genetic marker linked to one or more aluminum tolerance loci. Another aspect of the invention is an alfalfa plant that contains at least 1, 2, 3, or 4 sequences complementary to markers linked to an aluminum tolerance locus. In another aspect, an alfalfa plant can contain sequence complementary to any combination of markers linked to the aluminum tolerance locus.
As used herein linkage of two loci, including a marker sequence and an allele imparting a desired trait such as aluminum tolerance, may be genetic or physical or both. In one aspect of the invention, a nucleic acid marker and genetic locus conferring aluminum tolerance are genetically linked and, for example, are located less than 50 cM from one another. In particular embodiments, the marker and locus may exhibit a LOD score of greater than 2.0, as judged by interval mapping for the aluminum tolerance trait based on maximum likelihood methods described by Lander and Botstein, Genetics, 121:185-199 (1989), and implemented in the software package MAPMAKER (default parameters). In other embodiments, the marker and region conferring aluminum tolerance are genetically linked and exhibit a LOD score of greater than 3.0, or a LOD score of greater than 3.5, or a LOD score of about 4.0 based upon interval mapping.
In another aspect, the nucleic acid marker is genetically linked at a distance of between about 0 and about 49 centimorgans (cM) to the aluminum tolerance locus. In other embodiments, the distance between the nucleic acid marker and the aluminum tolerance locus is between about 0 and about 30 cM, or between about 0 and about 20 cM, or between about 0 and about 15 cM, or between about 0 and about 10 cM, or between about 0 and about 5 cM, or less. See, for example,
In another aspect, the nucleic acid molecule may be physically linked to an aluminum tolerance locus. In some aspects, the nucleic acid marker specifically hybridizes to a nucleic acid molecule having a sequence that is within about 30 Mbp, or about 20 Mbp, or about 15 Mbp, or about 10 Mbp, or about 5 Mbp of an aluminum tolerance locus.
As used herein, two nucleic acid molecules are said to be capable of hybridizing to one another if the two molecules are capable of forming an anti-parallel, double-stranded nucleic acid structure. Conventional stringency conditions are described by Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989) and by Haymes et al., Nucleic Acid Hybridization, A Practical Approach, IRL Press, Washington, D.C. (1985). Departures from complete complementarity are therefore permissible, as long as such departures do not completely preclude the capacity of the molecules to form a double-stranded structure. Thus, in order for a nucleic acid molecule to serve as a primer or probe it need only be sufficiently complementary in sequence to be able to form a stable double-stranded structure under the particular solvent and salt concentrations employed.
Appropriate stringency conditions which promote DNA hybridization, for example, 6.0× sodium chloride/sodium citrate (SSC) at about 45° C., followed by a wash of 2.0×SSC at 50° C., are known to those skilled in the art or can be found in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, N.Y. (1989), 6.3.1-6.3.6. In some embodiments, hybridization conditions can be high, moderate or low stringency conditions. High stringency conditions, for example, typically include a wash step at 65° C. in 0.2×SSC.
The specificity of hybridization can be affected by post-hybridization washes. For example, the salt concentration in the wash step can be selected from a low stringency of about 2.0×SSC at 50° C. to a moderate stringency of about 1.0×SSC at 50° C. to a high stringency of about 0.2×SSC at 50° C. In addition, the temperature in the wash step can be increased from low stringency conditions at room temperature, about 22° C., to moderate stringency conditions at about 50° C., to high stringency conditions at about 65° C. Both temperature and salt concentration may be varied, or either the temperature or the salt concentration may be held constant while the other variable is changed. In some aspects, the wash step can be performed for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or more minutes. In another aspect, the wash step is performed for about 20 minutes. In yet another aspect, the wash step can be repeated 1, 2, 3, 4, or more times using the selected salt concentration, temperature, and time. In another aspect, the wash step is repeated twice.
A genetic marker profile of a plant may be predictive of the agronomic traits of a hybrid plant produced using that plant as a parent. For example, if an inbred plant having a known genetic marker profile and phenotype is crossed with a second inbred plant having a known genetic marker profile and phenotype, it is possible to predict the phenotype of the F1 hybrid based on the combined genetic marker profiles of the parent inbred plants. Methods for prediction of hybrid performance from genetic marker data are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,547, the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such predictions may be made using any suitable genetic marker, for example, SSRs, INDELs, RFLPs, AFLPs, SNPs, or isozymes.
Additional markers, such as SSRs, AFLP markers, RFLP markers, RAPD markers, phenotypic markers, SNPs, isozyme markers, or microarray transcription profiles that are genetically linked to or correlated with aluminum tolerance can be utilized (Walton, Seed World 22-29 (July, 1993); Burow and Blake, Molecular Dissection of Complex Traits, 13-29, Eds. Paterson, CRC Press, New York (1988)). Methods to isolate such markers are known in the art. For example, locus-specific SSRs can be obtained by screening an alfalfa genomic library for SSRs, sequencing of “positive” clones, designing primers which flank the repeats, and amplifying genomic DNA with these primers.
The genetic linkage of marker molecules to aluminum tolerance can be established by a gene mapping model such as, without limitation, the flanking marker model reported by Lander and Botstein, Genetics, 121:185-199 (1989), and the interval mapping, based on maximum likelihood methods described by Lander and Botstein, Genetics, 121:185-199 (1989), and implemented in the software package MAPMAKER.
A maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) for the presence of a marker is calculated, together with an MLE assuming no trait effect, to avoid false positives. A log10 of an odds ratio (LOD) is then calculated as: LOD=log10 (MLE for the presence of a trait (MLE given no linked trait)).
The LOD score essentially indicates how much more likely the data are to have arisen assuming the presence of a resistance allele rather than in its absence. The LOD threshold value for avoiding a false positive with a given confidence, say 95%, depends on the number of markers and the length of the genome. Graphs indicating LOD thresholds are set forth in Lander and Botstein, Genetics, 121:185-199 (1989), and further described by Ars and Moreno-Gonzalez, Plant Breeding, Hayward, Bosemark, Romagosa (eds.) Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 314-331 (1993).
Selection of appropriate mapping or segregation populations is important in trait mapping. The choice of appropriate mapping population depends on the type of marker systems employed (Tanksley et al., Molecular mapping plant chromosomes. Chromosome structure and function: Impact of new concepts, J. P. Gustafson and R. Appels (eds.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 157-173 (1988)). Consideration must be given to the source of parents (adapted vs. exotic) used in the mapping population. Chromosome pairing and recombination rates can be severely disturbed (suppressed) in wide crosses (adapted×exotic) and generally yield greatly reduced linkage distances. Wide crosses will usually provide segregating populations with a relatively large array of polymorphisms when compared to progeny in a narrow cross (adapted×adapted).
The present application provides a genetic complement of the alfalfa lines described herein. Further provided is a hybrid genetic complement, wherein the complement is formed by the combination of a haploid genetic complement from elite inbred alfalfa lines described herein and another haploid genetic complement. Means for determining such a genetic complement are well known in the art.
As used herein, the phrase “genetic complement” means an aggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of which defines the phenotype of a plant, such as a Medicago sativa alfalfa plant or a cell or tissue of that plant. By way of example, a Medicago sativa alfalfa plant is genotyped to determine a representative sample of the inherited markers it possesses. Markers may be inherited in codominant fashion so that the presence of both alleles at a diploid or tetraploid locus is readily detectable, and they are free of environmental variation, i.e., their heritability is close to, or equal to, 1. This genotyping is may be performed on at least one generation of the descendant plant for which the numerical value of the trait or traits of interest are also determined. The array of single locus genotypes is expressed as a profile of marker alleles, two at each locus for a diploid plant. The marker allelic composition of each locus can be either homozygous or heterozygous. Homozygosity is a condition where both alleles at a locus are characterized by the same conditions of the genome at a locus (e.g., the same nucleotide sequence). Heterozygosity refers to different conditions of the genome at a locus. Potentially any type of genetic marker could be used, for example, simple sequence repeats (SSRs), insertion/deletion polymorphism (INDEL), restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and isozymes.
Considerable genetic information can be obtained from a completely classified F2 population using a codominant marker system (Mather, Measurement of Linkage in Heredity: Methuen and Co., (1938)). An F2 population is the first generation of self or sib pollination after the hybrid seed is produced. Usually, a single F1 plant is self or sib pollinated to generate a population segregating for the nuclear-encoded genes in a Mendelian (1:2:1) fashion.
In contrast to the use of codominant markers, using dominant markers often requires progeny tests (e.g., F3 or back cross self families) to identify heterozygous individuals in the preceding generation. The information gathered can be equivalent to that obtained in a completely classified F2 population. This procedure is, however, often prohibitive because of the cost and time involved in progeny testing. Progeny testing of F2 individuals is often used in map construction where error is associated with single-plant phenotyping, or when sampling the plants for genotyping affects the ability to perform accurate phenotyping, or where trait expression is controlled by a QTL. Segregation data from progeny test populations (e.g., F3 or backcrossed or selfed families) can be used in trait mapping. Marker-assisted selection can then be applied to subsequent progeny based on marker-trait map associations (F2, F3), where linkage has not been completely disassociated by recombination events (i.e., linkage disequilibrium).
Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) (genetically related lines; usually >F5) can be used as a mapping population. RILs can be developed by selfing F2 plants, then selfing the resultant F3 plants, and repeating this generational selfing process, thereby increasing homozygosity. Information obtained from dominant markers can be maximized by using RILs because all loci are homozygous or nearly so. Under conditions of tight linkage (i.e., about <10% recombination), dominant and co-dominant markers evaluated in RIL populations provide more information per individual than either marker type in backcross populations (Reiter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 89:1477-1481, 1992). However, as the distance between markers becomes larger (i.e., loci become more independent), the information in RIL populations decreases dramatically when compared to codominant markers.
Backcross populations can be utilized as mapping populations. A backcross population (BC) can be created by crossing an F1 to one of its parents. Typically, backcross populations are created to recover the desirable traits (which may include most of the genes) from one of the recurrent parental (the parent that is employed in the backcrosses) while adding one or a few traits from the second parental, which is often referred to as the donor. A series of backcrosses to the recurrent parent can be made to recover most of the recurrent parent's desirable traits. Thus a population is created consisting of individuals nearly like the recurrent parent, wherein each individual carries varying amounts or a mosaic of genomic regions from the donor parent. Backcross populations can be useful for mapping dominant markers particularly if all loci in the recurrent parent are homozygous and the donor and recurrent parent have contrasting polymorphic marker alleles (Reiter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 89:1477-1481, 1992).
Information obtained from backcross populations using either codominant or dominant markers is less than that obtained from completely classified F2 populations because recombination events involving one, rather than two, gametes are sampled per plant. Backcross populations, however, are more informative (at low marker saturation) when compared to RILs as the distance between linked loci increases in RIL populations (i.e., about 15% recombination). Increased recombination can be beneficial for resolution of tight linkages, but may be undesirable in the construction of maps with low marker saturation.
Near-isogenic lines (NIL) created by many backcrosses to produce an array of individuals that are nearly identical in genetic composition except for the trait or genomic region under interrogation can be used as a mapping population. In mapping with NILs, only a portion of the loci are polymorphic between the parentals are expected to segregate in the highly homozygous NIL population. Those loci that are polymorphic in a NIL population, however, are likely to be linked to the trait of interest.
Bulk segregant analysis (BSA) is a method developed for the rapid identification of linkage between markers and traits of interest (Michelmore, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 88:9828-9832, 1991). In BSA, two bulk DNA samples are drawn from a segregating population originating from a single cross. These bulk samples contain individuals that are identical for a particular trait (e.g., resistant or susceptible to a particular pathogen) or genomic region but arbitrary at unlinked regions (i.e., heterozygous). Regions unlinked to the target trait will not differ between the bulked samples of many individuals in BSA.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant comprising: (a) crossing an aluminum tolerant alfalfa line with a second alfalfa line lacking aluminum tolerance to form a segregating population; (b) screening the population for aluminum tolerance; and (c) selecting one or more members of the population having said aluminum tolerance. In one aspect, plants are identified as aluminum tolerant prior to conducting one or more crosses. In one aspect, plants can be selected on the basis of partial or complete aluminum tolerance. In one aspect, the segregating population is self-crossed and the subsequent population is screened for resistance.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of introgressing aluminum tolerance into an alfalfa plant comprising: (a) crossing at least a first aluminum tolerant alfalfa line with a second alfalfa line to form a segregating population; (b) screening said population for aluminum tolerance; and (c) selecting at least one member of said population exhibiting aluminum tolerance. In one aspect, plants are identified as aluminum tolerant prior to conducting one or more crosses. In one aspect, the segregating population is self-crossed and the subsequent population is screened for resistance.
Aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants of the present invention can be part of, or generated from, a breeding program. The choice of breeding method depends on the mode of plant reproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and the type of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F1 hybrid cultivar, pure line cultivar, etc). Selected, non-limiting approaches for breeding the plants of the present invention are set forth below. A breeding program can be enhanced using marker-assisted selection, or marker-assisted backcrossing, of the descendents of any cross. It is further understood that any commercial and non-commercial cultivars can be utilized in a breeding program. Factors such as, for example, emergence vigor, vegetative vigor, stress tolerance, disease resistance, branching, flowering, seed size, forage quality, and/or forage yield will generally dictate the choice.
For highly heritable traits, a choice of superior individual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective, whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based on statistical analyses (e.g., mean values) obtained from replicated evaluations of families of related plants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection, modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection. In some embodiments a backcross or recurrent breeding program is undertaken.
The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method. Backcross breeding can be used to transfer one or a few favorable genes for a highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach has been used extensively for breeding disease-resistant cultivars. Various recurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitatively inherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrent selection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination, the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and the number of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.
Breeding lines can be tested and compared to appropriate standards in environments representative of the commercial target area(s) for two or more generations. The best lines are candidates as parents for new commercial cultivars; those still deficient in traits may be used as parents for hybrids, or to produce new populations for further selection.
One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative to other experimental plants and to a widely grown standard cultivar. If a single observation is inconclusive, replicated observations can provide a better performance estimate. A breeder can select and cross two or more parental lines, followed by repeated self or sib pollinating and selection, producing many new genetic combinations.
The development of new alfalfa lines requires the preparation and selection of alfalfa varieties, the crossing of these varieties and selection of superior hybrid crosses. The hybrid seed can be produced by manual crosses between selected male-fertile parents or by using male sterility systems. Hybrids can be selected for certain single gene traits such as flower color, seed yield or herbicide resistance that indicate that the seed is truly a hybrid. Additional data on parental lines, as well as the phenotype of the hybrid, influence the breeder's decision whether to continue with the specific hybrid cross.
Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods can be used to develop cultivars from breeding populations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or more cultivars or various broad-based sources into breeding pools from which cultivars are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes into parent lines. These lines are used to produce new cultivars. New cultivars can be evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.
Pedigree breeding is used commonly for the improvement of self-pollinating crops. Two parents who possess favorable, complementary traits are crossed to produce an F1. An F2 population is produced by selfing one or several F1's. Selection of the best individuals in the best families is performed. Replicated testing of families can begin in the F4 generation to improve the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F6 and F7), the best lines or mixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potential release as new cultivars.
Backcross breeding and cross breeding have been used to transfer genes for a simply inherited, highly heritable trait into a desirable homozygous cultivar or inbred line, which is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait to be transferred is called the donor parent. The resulting plant obtained from a successful backcrossing program is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After the initial cross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parent are selected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrent parent. After multiple backcrossing generations with selection, the resulting line is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent.
Cross breeding or backcross breeding of an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant may be conducted where the other parent (second alfalfa plant) is aluminum tolerant or the other parent is not aluminum tolerant.
Alfalfa plants generated of the invention may be generated using a single-seed descent procedure. The single-seed descent procedure, in the strict sense, refers to planting a segregating population, then selecting one plant in this and each subsequent generation to self and create the next generation. When the population has been advanced from the F2 to the desired level of inbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace to different F2 individuals. The number of plants in a population declines each generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plants to produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F2 plants originally sampled in the population will be represented by a progeny when generation advance is completed.
Descriptions of other breeding methods that are commonly used for different traits and crops can be found in reference texts (e.g., Fehr, Principles of Cultivar Development Vol. 1, pp. 2-3, 1987).
In one aspect of the present invention, the source of aluminum tolerance trait for use in a breeding program is derived from a plant selected from the group consisting of Altet1, Altet2, Altet3, Altet4 and aluminum tolerant descendants thereof. In another aspect, the source of the aluminum tolerance trait for use in a breeding program is derived from a plant selected from the group consisting of Altet4 and aluminum tolerant descendants thereof.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to an inbred alfalfa plant, wherein said resistance is exhibited when said plant is in contact with aluminum. In one embodiment the inbred plant is an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant. Also included in the invention is an alfalfa plant having a genome, wherein said genome comprises one or more genetic loci conferring aluminum tolerance, wherein said one or more genetic loci associated with one or more genetic markers linked thereto.
In one aspect, additional sources of aluminum tolerance for use in a breeding program can be identified by screening alfalfa germplasm for aluminum tolerance. In a yet another aspect, alfalfa plants can be screened for aluminum tolerance by identifying germplasm exhibiting reduced aluminum toxicity relative to a control alfalfa plant after inoculation or infection. In one aspect, alfalfa plants can be screened for aluminum tolerance using a method as described in Example 2. In another aspect, alfalfa plants can be screened for aluminum tolerance using a method as described in Example 3.
In another aspect, additional sources of aluminum tolerance for use in a breeding program can be identified by screening with one or more molecular markers linked to a genetic locus conferring aluminum tolerance.
In another aspect, aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants, varieties, lines or cultivars can be used in breeding programs to combine aluminum tolerance with additional traits of interest. In one aspect, aluminum tolerance can be combined with any additional trait, including other disease resistant traits, yield traits, and hay quality traits. Breeding programs can also be used to combine aluminum tolerance with one or more disease resistant traits. In another aspect, the traits that are combined can be co-inherited in subsequent crosses.
The present invention also provides for parts of the aluminum tolerant alfalfa plants produced by a method of the present invention. Parts of alfalfa plants, without limitation, include plant cells or parts of plant cells, seed, endosperm, meristem, flower, anther, ovule, pollen, callus, flowers, stems, roots, stalks or leaves, scions, and root stocks. In one embodiment of the present invention, the plant part is a seed.
The invention further provides for parts of an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant having a genome, which comprises at least one genetic locus giving rise to aluminum tolerance in the alfalfa plant. In another embodiment, parts of alfalfa plants are derived from an alfalfa plant selected from the group consisting of Altet1, Altet2, Altet3 and Altet4, and aluminum tolerant descendants thereof.
One aspect of the invention includes a aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant, or the hay or seeds thereof, wherein the alfalfa plant, or the hay or seeds thereof, expresses one, or two, or three, or more independently selected desirable traits in addition to aluminum tolerance. In other aspects of the invention, the plants bearing one or more desirable traits in addition to aluminum tolerance display a greater than 10%, or a greater than 30%, or a greater than 60%, or a greater than 80% reduction in of aluminum toxicity symptoms relative to a non-resistant control plant upon exposure to aluminum. Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of producing an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant comprising: crossing an aluminum tolerant alfalfa plant, or a plant from an aluminum tolerant alfalfa line, cultivar or variety with a second plant lacking aluminum tolerance but capable of donating one or more of the aforementioned desirable traits.
The following examples are included to demonstrate preferred embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples which follow represent techniques discovered by the inventors to function well in the practice of the invention, and thus can be considered to constitute preferred modes for its practice. However, those of skill in the art should, in light of the present disclosure, appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
The diploid Al-tolerant alfalfa Al-4 (Narasimhamoorthy et al., Theor Appl Genet 114:901-91, 2007b) was crossed with individual genotypes from the synthetic non-dormant tetraploid variety CUF 101 (Lehman et al., Crop Sci 23 398-399, 1983) to produce seeds from Altet-1 through Altet-4. Altet-4 (Al-tolerant) was manually crossed in the greenhouse with NECS-141 (semi-dormant breeding line developed in Iowa and derived from a strain cross between 5454, Oneida VR, and Apica). A total of 185 individuals from the NECS141Altet4 population were used for phenotyping and mapping. Of these, 110 F1 progeny were derived from Altet-4 as the maternal parent and 75 individuals had NECS-141 as the maternal parent. Individual F1 seeds were stored for 72 h at −20 C.°, scarified using sand-paper, and planted in a germination mix in the greenhouse. Stem cuttings of individual genotypes were collected from the greenhouse and sterilized using 70% EtOH for 5 min followed by rinsing 3X with sterilized double distilled water for 5 min. All genotypes were clonally propagated in modified MS medium (Murashige and Skoog, Physiol Plant 15:473-797, 1962) containing the MS basal salt mixture (PhytoTechnology Laboratories, product number M524) containing 2 mg/l of Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 2% sucrose (Invitrogen, catalog number 15503-022) using the axillary and terminal meristems.
Individuals from the NECS141Altet4 population, NECS-141, Altet-1 through Altet-4, and the CUF101-derived genotypes 95-608 and 95-653, were evaluated for their Al-tolerance response using Blaydes medium (ALB) to induce callus formation (Parrot and Bouton, 1990). Half of a single 2-week-old callus was transferred to Blaydes media with Al (“ALB+” with 400 μM of Al supplied by AlCl3, pH 4.0) and the other half was transferred to Blaydes medium without Al (“ALB−” at pH 4.0) as previously described (Parrot and Bouton, Crop Sci 30:387-389, 1990). Individual calli were weighed and transferred to fresh ALB+ and ALB− media at one week intervals for 8 weeks to determine the relative growth rate of each genotype. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications, each of which consisted of five individual calli per genotype per treatment.
Vegetatively propagated alfalfa clones (stem cuttings) from each individual in the mapping population were used to evaluate the same genotype across replications and treatments using a culture media adapted from Ma et al., (Nature 390:569-570, 1997) containing 200 μM CaCl2, 1.4% Gelzan, either 0, 50 μM or 1 mM Al supplied as AlCl3, and pH 7.0 or 4.0 adjusted using 1 N HCl. Apical stem cuttings were rooted in least macro salt (LMS) medium which consisted of 0.1 mM CaCl2, 500 μM KNO3 and 500 μM MgSO4 and 1.2% Gelzan. Cuttings with visually uniform root size and lateral root number were transferred to CaCl2 medium −Al and +Al (1 mM AlCl3). Plant evaluations using both the callus bioassay and the whole plant assay in media were conducted in controlled-environment growth chambers at 25° C. and 18 h light photoperiod. Quantification of total root length, lateral root numbers, and branching was performed using the winRHIZO® software (Regent Instruments, Québec, Canada) commonly used to identify quantitative differences in root branching and length (Jahufer et al., Crop Sci. 48:487-494, 2008; Zhu et al., Funct. Plant Biol. 32:749-762, 2005). The absolute root growth and ratio of root characteristics (biomass, length, and branching) after 2 weeks of growth in Al+ and Al− media were used as quantitative measurements to determine Al tolerance.
Genomic DNA from each individual from the NECS141Altet4 mapping population was extracted separately using DNeasy™ Plant Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Cat. No. 69104, Valencia, USA). A total of 1024 EST-SSR primer pairs distributed throughout the alfalfa linkage groups (Sledge et al., Theor Appl Genet 111:980-992, 2005) and those developed from alfalfa trichome ESTs (Mtri) were used to evaluate polymorphism between Altet-4, 95-608, and NECS-141 and genotyping as previously described (Zhang et al., Plant Methods 4:19, 2008). A total of 538 polymorphic SSR primers pairs were used for genotyping and to identify any selfed progeny (exemplary primers are provided in Table 1). Genes implicated in the Al tolerance response in other species, including those involved in organic acid synthesis (malate dehydrogenase, aluminum-activated malate transporter (ALMT), citrate synthase, citrate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, oxalate oxidase, superoxide dismutase, acid phosphatases, peroxidases), signal transduction pathways, oxidative stress (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, PEPC), and transporters (Ermolayev et al., Exp Bot 54:2745-2756, 2003; Maron et al., 2008; Tesfaye et al., Pl. Physiol. 127:1836-1844, 2001) were used to identify homologous genes in M. truncatula and to design molecular markers. Additional gene targets for marker development included Al responsive genes identified from transcript profiling in Medicago truncatula (Chandran et al., 2008).
Amplicons obtained using microsatellites were visualized and scored using GeneMapper™ 3.7 software. PCR reactions producing single amplification products using primers designed from putative orthologs of candidate genes implicated in Al tolerance were used to identify length polymorphism or sequenced with the BigDye® terminator v3.1 cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems) and analyzed using an ABI3730 genetic analyzer to confirm amplification of the target sequence and identify candidate SNPs. Polymorphic amplicons segregating in the population were scored as described by Hackett et al. (J Hered 94:358-359, 2003). Simplex (1:1), duplex (5:1), and double simplex (3:1) markers were scored based on their segregation ratio in the population to achieve maximum resolution on the parental linkage map. Recombination frequencies and clustering of markers into linkage groups (LGs) was performed using the software TetraploidMap (Hackett et al., Genetics 159:1819-1832, 2001; Hackett et al., J. Hered. 98:727-729, 2007) previously used for mapping in alfalfa (Julier et al., BMC Plant Biol. 3:9, 2003; Robins et al., Crop Sci. 48:1780-1786, 2008; Robins et al., Crop Sci. 47:11-16, 2007). MapChart (Voorrips, J. Hered. 93:77-78, 2002) was used to construct the resulting linkage groups (LG). Interval mapping for autotetraploid species was implemented for QTL analysis as described by (Hackett et al., Genetics 159:1819-1832, 2001). The ‘TetraploidMap’ software program (Hackett and Luo, J Hered 94:358-359, 2003) was used for all analytical procedures for QTL interval mapping. Multiple regression analysis for each of the identified QTLs was performed to determine the allelic effect at each QTL region.
The parental clones Altet-4 and NECS-141, and 185 F1 genotypes were evaluated for their Al-tolerance response using Blaydes medium (ALB) as previously described (Parrot and Bouton, Crop Sci 30:387-389, 1990). Leaves and petioles from the individual genotypes were used for callus induction. Half of a single 2-week old callus was transferred to Blaydes medium with Al (+ALB, pH 4.0 with 400 μM of Al supplied by AlCl3) and the other half was transferred to Blaydes medium without Al (−ALB, pH 4.0). Individual calli were weighed and transferred to fresh +ALB and −ALB medium at one week intervals for 8 weeks to determine the relative growth rate of each genotype. The experimental design for the callus bioassay using ALB medium included three replications with five individual calli per genotype per replication. Al tolerance (+ALB/−ALB) was estimated using the total callus weight ratio (TCWR) of each genotype grown in medium +Al and −Al.
The relative growth rate of Altet-4 calli in media Al+vs. Al− was consistently higher than any other genotype evaluated, including the other Altet genotypes (
Statistical analysis. Variation for Al tolerance from phenotypic evaluations in the callus bioassay and whole plant assay in media, and the correlations between phenotyping systems were determined using SAS 9.1 (SAS, Cary, N.C.). Statistical differences between genotypes were determined using PROC GLM and LSMEANS with genotype treated as a random variable and replication as fixed effect. PROC CORR was used to evaluate the correlation between callus growth and root growth in both assays. The normality of the Al tolerance phenotypic data from the segregating population was evaluated with the Shapiro-Wilk test (Shapiro and Wilk, Biometrika 52:591-611, 1965) using PROC UNIVARIATE.
Results.
Phenotypic evaluations of Al tolerance in the mapping population using the callus bioassay exhibited a continuous and normal distribution based on a Shapiro-Wilk (W) score of 0.92 (P<0.001) (
Clonally propagated alfalfa (stem cuttings) from each individual in the mapping population were evaluated for Al-tolerance using the whole plant assay as previously described by Khu et al. (2011a, Crop Sci 52. doi:10.2135/cropsci2011.2105.0256). Briefly, the CaCl2 medium contains 200 μM 4 CaCl2, 1.4% Gelzan (G3251, PhytoTechnology Laboratories), and either 0 (pH 7 and pH 4) or 1 mM AlCl3 (pH 4). The pH was adjusted to pH 3 and pH 10.5 to obtain media with pH 4 and 7, respectively, after autoclaving due to the lack of buffering capacity. Apical stem cuttings were rooted in least macro salt (LMS) medium which consisted of 0.1 mM CaCl2, 500 μM KNO3 and 500 μM MgSO4 and 1.2% Gelzan. Cuttings with visually uniform root size and lateral root number were transferred to CaCl2 medium −Al and +Al (1 mM AlCl3). The experimental design included five replications with a single rooted cutting per replication and treatment combination (pH 7 −Al, pH 4 −Al, and pH 4 +Al). The total root length of each clone was measured after 14 d of growth in medium with pH 7 −Al, pH 4 −Al, and pH 4 +Al using the winRHIZO® software (Regent Instruments, Québec, Canada). Al tolerance (pH 4 +Al/pH 7 −Al) was estimated using the average total root length ratio (TRLR) of each genotype grown in media at pH 7 −Al and pH 4 +Al.
The relative root length (pH7/pH4Al+) of Altet-4 and NECS-141 resulting from WPA evaluations in media (
Genomic DNA from each F1 progeny in the mapping population was extracted separately using the DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Cat. No. 69104, Valencia, USA). A total of 755 SSR primer pairs from M. truncatula EST-SSRs (Eujayl et al. Theor Appl Genet 108:414-422, 2004; Julier et al. BMC Plant Biol 3:9, 2003; Sledge et al. Theor Appl Genet 111:980-992, 2005) and alfalfa genomic SSRs (Diwan et al. Theor Appl Genet 101:165-172, 2000), were used to screen for polymorphism between Altet-4 and NECS-141 as previously described by Zhang et al (Plant Methods 4:19, 2008). In addition to previously used SSR markers, 269 SSR primers developed from alfalfa trichome unigene sequences were used to screen for polymorphism between the two parents. Briefly, the total 4,485 Medicago sativa trichome unigenes, consisting of 3,406 singletons and 1,079 contigs or tentative consensus (TC) sequences, assembled from two EST libraries (MS_TRI1 and MS_TRI2) of glandular trichomes isolated from Medicago sativa stems and one EST library (MS_FAL_SSH) of cold-treated Medicago falcata L. subsp. falcata leaves were downloaded from the TrichOME database (Dai et al. Pl Physiol 152:44-54, 2010). Candidate SSRs were identified from the downloaded unigenes using the SSRIT Perl scripts (Kantety et al. Plant Mol Biol 48:501-510, 2002) for perfect SSR identification and the Sputnik software (espressosoftware.com/sputnik/index.html; Verified Aug. 8 2011) for imperfect SSR identification as previously described (Zhang et al. Plant Methods 4:19, 2008). PCR primers were designed using Primer3 (Rozen and Skaletsky, Primer3 on the WWW for general users and for biologist programmers. In: Misener S, Krawetz S A (eds) Bioinformatics Methods and Protocols. Humana Press, pp 365-386, 1999) to amplify the identified candidate SSR regions. PCR reactions were prepared in a 10 μl volume and contained 20 ng of template DNA, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 1×PCR buffer II (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif., USA), 0.15 mM dNTPs, 1.0 pmol each of the reverse primer with an additional 18 nucleotides from the M13 forward sequencing universal primer (e.g. Schuelke Nature Biotechnol. 18:233-234, 2000) appended to the 5′end, 0.25 pmol of the forward primer (see Table 5), and 0.5 U GoTaq® DNA polymerase (Promega, Madison, Wis., USA). The M13 nucleotide sequences were labeled either with blue (6-FAM), green (HEX), yellow (NED) or red (PET) fluorescent tags. PCR products with different fluorescent labels and with different fragment sizes were pooled for detection. A total of 1.6 μl of pooled PCR products were combined with 12 μl of deionized formamide and 0.5 μl of GeneScan-500 LIZ internal size standard and analyzed on the ABI PRISM® 3730 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif., USA). GeneMapper 3.7 software was used to analyze the DNA amplicons and assign allele scores.
A total of 305 primers from the total legume SSR primer pairs evaluated were polymorphic between the parental genotypes Altet-4 and NECS-141. 212 SSR loci from Altet-4 and 226 loci from NECS-141 were captured in the genetic linkage map, which consists of eight consensus LGs representing the eight chromosomes in the alfalfa genome. The consensus map length of Altet-4 was 826 cM and 745 cM for NECS-141. The consensus parental maps were constructed from the 32 co-segregation groups for each parental genome. These co-segregation groups provide a more precise view of linkage relationships among marker alleles and facilitate identification of positive alleles for QTLs. Single factor analysis of variance (SF-ANOVA) and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test identified significant markers associated with Al tolerance from the CBA on LGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 in the NECS141Altet4 population (Table 2). Interval mapping was performed for all Al tolerance screening methods utilized in this study. Based on phenotypic data from the CBA, whole plant assay in media and whole plant assay in soil, Al tolerance QTLs were identified on six LGs (Table 2 &
Significant QTLs for Al tolerance on LGs 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 were identified in which Altet-4 contributed the positive allele (
Three Al tolerance QTLs were identified on chromosomes 1, 4, and 6 in the NECS-141 parental linkage map. Although NECS-141 has lower phenotypic values than Altet-4 (
†Ratio of total root length (pH 7 Al−/pH 4 Al+ at 50 μM)
‡Ratio of root dry matter (unlimed/limed)
§Rankings of genotypes based on performance, 1: most Al tolerant; 3: least Al tolerant.
Soil-based assays were performed twice in the greenhouse using replicates in time (experiment 1 and experiment 2). The two experiments showed significant covariance (data not shown) and thus each set of experimental data was analyzed separately. Soil-based phenotypic data from experiment 1 and 2 was used to identify two QTLs for Al tolerance on chromosome 1 and 4 from Altet-4 (Table 3,
All publications and patent applications cited herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Although certain embodiments have been described in detail above, those having ordinary skill in the art will clearly understand that many modifications are possible in the embodiments without departing from the teachings thereof. All such modifications are intended to be encompassed within the invention as disclosed.
Linkage and QTL analysis were performed using the TetraploidMap software (Hackett et al., J Hered 98:727-729, 2007) previously used for mapping in tetraploid alfalfa (Julier et al., BMC Plant Biol 3:9, 2003; Robins et al., Crop Sci 47 1-10, 2007; Robins et al., Crop Sci 48:1780-1786, 2008) and tetraploid potato (Bradshaw et al., Theor Appl Genet 116:193-211, 2008; Khu et al., Am J Potato Res 85:129-139, 2008). The parental genotypes were determined based on the observed parent and offspring marker score (Luo et al., Theor Appl Genet 100:1067-1073, 2000). Markers were assigned to a given LG based on the location of previously mapped SSR markers (Julier et al., BMC Plant Biol 3:9, 2003; Narasimhamoorthy et al., Theor Appl Genet 114:901-91, 2007b; Robins et al., Crop Sci 47 1-10, 2007) and simplex coupling linkages. The EM algorithm was used to calculate the recombination frequency and LOD score to identify the most likely phase of markers on the same LG (Luo et al., Genetics 157:1369-1385, 2001). A simulated annealing algorithm (Hackett and Luo, J Hered 94:358-359, 2003) was used to identify the most accurate order of markers and distance between markers.
Multi-allelic SSR markers with either three or four alleles representing different homologous chromosomes were used to identify F1 genotypes that inherited products of double reduction. Once the allelic combination of each F1 genotype was identified, markers located in the interval between this locus and the distal end of the chromosome were evaluated to confirm double reduction in that F1 genotype. The 27 F1 genotypes resulting from double reduction identified in this study were not included in the corresponding linkage map and QTL analysis because a reliable model for analyzing double reduction is not available (Bradshaw et al., Theor Appl Genet 116:193-211, 2008).
Single-factor analysis of variance (SF-ANOVA) and interval mapping were performed using the TetraploidMap software as described by Hackett et al. (Genetics 159:1819-1832, 2001) and Bradshaw et al. (Theor Appl Genet 116:193-211, 2008). The inheritance of each marker allele in the F1 progeny representing homologous chromosomes i and j from the parental genotypes were denoted using Qij. For each marker allele combination, the mean value of all genotypes containing the allele was compared to the mean value of the individuals without the allele. A maximum-likelihood approach for fitting QTL models was evaluated with separate means for each of the possible QTL genotypes (gametes Q1Q2, Q1Q3, Q1Q4, Q2Q3, Q2Q4, and Q3Q4) using a 2 cM window along the chromosome as previously described (Hackett, 2001). Significant QTLs were identified based on LOD scores greater than 3.0 and a threshold value determined using 500 permutations. After the significant QTLs were identified, four models were evaluated using the simplex allele (absent Qi versus present Qi) and six models were evaluated for the dominant duplex allele on the pairs of homologous chromosomes (e.g., Q1Q2+Q1Q3+ Q1Q4+ Q2Q3+ Q2Q4 versus Q3Q4) and compared them using the likelihood ratio test. Biallelic genotypes are reported for each marker combination with less than 5% missing data points. Interval mapping was performed using the permutation test with 500 iterations to declare significance (P<0.05).
A total of 257 primer pairs (Table 5) from the 1,024 legume SSR primer pairs evaluated were polymorphic between the parental genotypes Altet-4 and NECS-141. For Altet-4, 283 SSR alleles were scored (Table 6). Of these, 198 were segregating in a 1:1 ratio (simplex) and 59 segregated in a 5:1 ratio (duplex). Among these, 70 co-dominant SSR combinations were identified by significant repulsion linkage and clustering analysis. For NECS-141, 231 SSR alleles segregated in a 1:1 ratio and 48 segregated in a 5:1 ratio. Among these, a total of 64 co-dominant SSR combinations were identified. SSR markers were used to construct linkage maps for the eight LGs corresponding to the eight alfalfa chromosomes. A total of 185 SSR loci from Altet-4 and 205 loci from NECS-141 were captured in the parental genetic linkage maps, with 115 loci in common between the two parental maps. The consensus maps covered 761 cM for Altet-4 and 721 cM for NECS-141, and included the 32 co-segregating homologous chromosomes (4 homologs for each of the eight chromosomes) for each parental genome (
Twenty markers associated with the response to Al in the callus bioassay were identified using SF-ANOVA (Table 7). Of these markers, 14 were associated with decreasing total callus weight ratio (TCWR) and six with increasing TCWR. Forty-one markers relevant to Al tolerance in the whole plant assay were also found using SF-ANOVA. Of these, 21 markers were associated with increasing total root length ratio (TRLR) and 20 markers were associated with decreasing TRLR.
Using interval mapping, a QTL for callus growth was identified at 90 cM on LG 1 from Altet-4 (
Two QTLs for Al tolerance were identified based on interval mapping of the root growth differences in the whole plant assay on LG 4 of Altet-4 (
Interval mapping was used to identify additional QTLs for Al tolerance on LGs 4 and 7 (
Al tolerance QTL on LG 7 of NECS-141 explained 21.7% of the phenotypic variation for total root length ratio (TRLR) from the whole plant assay in media. For the Al tolerance QTL identified from the whole plant assay on LG 7 from NECS-141, the average TRLR of the allelic combination Q23 (0.75), was higher than the average TRLR of all other allelic combinations (0.50) (
aLinkage group
bHomologous chromosome number
cEffect: (+) presence of the marker increases the trait value; (−) absence of the marker increases the trait value
dMean of individuals with marker genotype 0 (absent)
eMean of individuals with marker genotype 1 (present)
fstandard error of the difference between marker class means
A computer readable form of the sequence listing is contained in the file named “NBLE077_ST25.txt” which is 103 kb (measured in MS-Windows) and was created on Dec. 2, 2013, which is filed herewith and herein incorporated by reference. This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/433,205, filed on Jan. 15, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20120185961 A1 | Jul 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 61433205 | Jan 2011 | US |
