Trends in Conservation and Utilization of Oat Genetic Resources

Axel Diederichsen1 and Christoph U. Germeier2

1 Plant Gene Resources of Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada2 Julius Kühn Institute, Quedlinburg, Germany

Julius Kühn InstitutBundesforschungsinstitut für KulturpflanzenFederal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants

Oat harvested in the world since 1945Oat harvested in the world since 1945((Sources: Coffman 1961 and FAO 2008)Sources: Coffman 1961 and FAO 2008)

0

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

50,000,000

60,000,000

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

Area harvested (ha)

World

Canada

USA

Europe

USSR

- In the late 18th and early 20th century oat occupied in many northern countries more land than any other cereal - Since 1945/49 a reduction by 80% - Lesser decline in Nordic countries and Canada- Oat breeding programmes are ceasing in Europe and North America

Are there new opportunities for Are there new opportunities for oats?oats?

• Health food for human nutrition• Low-input crop regarding fertilizer and

pesticides• Oat seed oil as bio-fuel?• Diversification of crop rotation• Race horses and their specific nutrition

requirements

Opposing conclusions so farOpposing conclusions so far

• Oat diversity was of relevance in the past but there is no need or economic justification to preserve it for the future

• Oat diversity deserves increased attention because it is about to disappear and the options for future developments of oat need to be kept open

The oat gene-poolThe oat gene-pool

• Oat breeding has been mostly active in northern, industrialized countries and historically also in Australia and New Zealand. Important oat genebanks in Canada, USA, Russia, Germany, Sweden

• Hull-les oat has been of relevance in China and the largest collections for this germplasm exist there

• Diploid oat has historically been of relevance in Spain, Portugal, England and Scotland and are presently more closely investigated (M. Scholten, Scotland)

• The wild Avena species occur for the most in the Mediterranean region (Morocco) and partly in the Near East

Which genetic diversity is of Which genetic diversity is of relevance for future generations? relevance for future generations?

• The breeding strategies can be different:– Monogenic disease resistances for crown rust from

wild oat species have been of great importance in North America (J. Chong)

– Breeding for horizontal resistances may be easier when using the cultivated species (D. Stuthman)

• The use of wild species seems to become more important to widen the genetic diversity in the cultivated gene-pool

Genetic erosion in Canadian oat cultivars released between 1886 and 2001 based on microsatellite markers (Dr. Y.-B. Fu)

1886 1920 1940 1960 1970 1980 1990 2001

Number of cultivars and morphological groups in 126 oat Number of cultivars and morphological groups in 126 oat cultivars released in Canada since 1866cultivars released in Canada since 1866

Period of cultivar release Number of cultivars

Number of morphological groups

before 1910 6 3

1910-1919 2 2

1920-1929 6 2

1930-1939 7 4

1940-1949 12 4

1950-1959 11 2

1960-1969 8 3

1970-1979 17 6

1980-1989 22 5

1990-1999 25 7

after 2000 10 4

Total 126 10

Concentration of certain phenotypes in the Concentration of certain phenotypes in the PGRC PGRC A. sativaA. sativa collection collection

1

10

100

1000

10000

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Morphological group

Number of accessions

All accessions included (n=10105) Canadian cultivars (n=126)

Do we know what diversity is?Do we know what diversity is?

The questions regarding diversity are often difficult to discuss because there are different concepts of diversity.

Functional genetic diversity and genetic diversity in the narrow sense are very different issues.

Associations analyses between the two may result in a more coherent picture.

Talking about genetic erosion can become emotional for the above mentioned and other reasons.

Evolutionary origin of cultivated oat species (Loskutov 2008)

Oat pedigrees in 1918Oat pedigrees in 1918(Source: Zade 1918)(Source: Zade 1918)

Crop improvement by mass selection or

line selection

Crop improvement bycross breeding

17 cultivars were selectedfrom the landrace ‘Probsteier’

Cultivated oat germplasmCultivated oat germplasm

• The world genebanks preserve about 80.000 accessions of cultivated oat species (A. sativa, A. byzantina, A. abyssinica, A. strigosa, A. nuda)

• The diversity of landraces is of great importance and in situ or on farm conservation are presently not significant in industrialized countries

• Genebanks are important sources for such diversity

Evolutionary relationships among Evolutionary relationships among AvenaAvena species species (Loskutov 2008)(Loskutov 2008)

Wild oat speciesWild oat species

• The world genebanks preserve about 20,000 accessions of wild Avena species

• Some of these crop wild relatives are threatened in their natural habitats and ex situ preservation may be essential for their survival

• The crop wild relatives receive recently more attention as genetic resources for crop improvement

AvenaAvena accessions shipped from accessions shipped from PGRC since 1998PGRC since 1998

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1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Year

Number of accessions shipped

- Total accessions shipped since 1998: 14,014- Number of requests: 156 from 21 countries and from within Canada- Internal request for screenings: 1,545 accessions- Other requests from within Canada: 10,061 accessions (72%)

Trends in germplasm requests from Trends in germplasm requests from PGRCPGRC

• Less requests for germplasm screenings• More specific requests for donors of certain

genes• More requests for wild Avena species for

genetic studies• Only few requests directly by plant breeders• The breeding strategies applied strongly affect

the germplasm needs for breeding

Global trends in oat germplasmGlobal trends in oat germplasm(Graphs not based on data but on perception)(Graphs not based on data but on perception)

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50

100

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Year

Accessability (%)

Germplasm

Information

Global Crop Diversity Trust supports Global Crop Diversity Trust supports security back-up seed storage for all security back-up seed storage for all genebanks and crops genebanks and crops

Location: Svalbard Archipelago, belongs to Norway (80ºN, about 1000km from the pole)Capacity: 4.5 Million seeds samples of 500 seeds eachTemperature: Cooled to -18ºCNatural temperature of surrounding rock: -3.5ºCMore information: http://www.croptrust.org/main/arctic.php?itemid=211Opening ceremony: http://media01.smartcom.no/Microsite/dss_01.aspx?eventid=2798

In function since February 2008In function since February 2008

Issues for the Global Oat Issues for the Global Oat Diversity NetworkDiversity Network• How can genbanks co-operate more efficiently?• Duplication, regeneration, characterization• The access to information world-wide is

technically possible. Should we search for funding to establish a World Oat Database?

• Is there a need for rescue collecting of wild Avena species or cultivated oat landraces threatened by extinction?

• Can genebanks contribute to better utilization of the diversity stored in ex situ collections?