Identification of molecular markers for aluminium tolerance in diploid oat through comparative mapping and QTL analysis

The degree of aluminium tolerance varies widely across cereal species, with oats (Avena spp.) being among the most tolerant. The objective of this study was to identify molecular markers linked to aluminium tolerance in the diploid oat A. strigosa. Restriction fragment length polymorphism markers were tested in regions where comparative mapping indicated the potential for orthologous quantitative trait loci (QTL) for aluminium tolerance in other grass species. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers were used to provide additional coverage of the genome. Four QTL were identified. The largest QTL explained 39% of the variation and is possibly orthologous to the major gene found in the Triticeae as well as Alm1 in maize and a minor gene in rice. A second QTL may be orthologous to the Alm2 gene in maize. Two other QTL were associated with anonymous markers. Together, these QTL accounted for 55% of the variation. A SCAR marker linked to the major QTL identified in this study could be used to introgress the aluminium tolerance trait from A. strigosa into cultivated oat germplasm.