Chromosomal localization and polymorphisms of ribosomal DNA in oat (Avena spp.)

The 17S/5.8S/26S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences were mapped to the three satellited (SAT) chromosomes in the common hexaploid cultivated oat Avena sativa (2n = 6x = 42, AACCDD genomes). In situ hybridization and Southern hybridization of maize and (or) wheat rDNA probes to DNA from nullisomics derived from the cultivar 'Sun II' allowed the placement of rDNA sequences to the physical chromosomes. A restriction map was produced for the rDNA sequences of 'Sun II' using a maize probe from the transcribed region of the 17S/26S rDNA repeat. The set of rDNA repeats on SAT 2 of 'Sun II' possesses a 10.5-kb EcoRI fragment not found in the rDNA repeats of SAT 1 and SAT 8. This 10.5-kb fragment results from the absence of an EcoRI site in the intergenic spacer (IGS) of SAT 2 repeats. Extensive polymorphisms were demonstrated for three hexaploid Avena species, namely, the Mediterranean-type cultivated oat A. byzantina and the wild species A. sterilis and A. fatua. However, geographically diverse A. sativa cultivars displayed little rDNA variation. In contrast with all of the A. sativa cultivars examined, the A. sterilis accessions generally lacked the 10.5-kb EcoRI fragment. The results support the hypothesis that A. sativa accessions descend from a limited ancestral cultivated population. The rDNA polymorphisms are attributed to differences in lengths and restriction sites of the IGS.