Saule Abugalieva

Genetic characterization of wild barley populations (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum) from Kazakhstan based on genome wide SNP analysis

The wild ancestral form of barley, Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum, is a valuable source for gene enrichment of cultivated barley. The purpose of this work was to study the area of distribution as well as the extent and structure of genetic variation of wild barley populations grown in Kazakhstan. It was found that distribution of wild barley populations in Kazakhstan is restricted to the most southern province. A genome wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis was performed in order to study the level of the genetic diversity in 96 accessions representing 14 wild barley populations from Kazakhstan and 25 accessions from the Middle East which is the center of diversity of this subspecies. The oligonucleotide pooled assay was used to genotype 384 SNPs distributed throughout the genome. In total 233 polymorphic SNPs were selected for further statistical analysis. The level of genetic diversity of wild barley populations from Kazakhstan was predictably narrower (He = 0.19 ± 0.01) in comparison with wild barley samples from the Middle East (He = 0.29 ± 0.01). The results suggested that H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum populations in Kazakhstan probably represent a recent spread of a limited number of plants from the primary distribution area and might be well adapted to winter low temperature.

Assessment of Soybean Flowering and Seed Maturation Time in Different Latitude Regions of Kazakhstan

Soybean is still a minor crop in Kazakhstan despite an increase in planting area from 4,500 to 11,400 km2 between 2006 and 2014. However, the Government’s recently accepted crop diversification policy projects the expansion of soybean cultivation area to more than 40,000 km2 by 2020. The policy is targeting significant expansion of soybean production in South-eastern, Eastern, and Northern regions of Kazakhstan. Successful realization of this policy requires a comprehensive characterization of plant growth parameters to identify optimal genotypes with appropriate adaptive phenotypic traits. In this study 120 soybean accessions from different parts of the World, including 18 accessions from Kazakhstan, were field tested in South-eastern, Eastern, and Northern regions of the country. These studies revealed positive correlation of yield with flowering time in Northern Kazakhstan, with seed maturity time in Eastern Kazakhstan, and with both these growth stages in South-eastern Kazakhstan. It was determined that in South-eastern, Eastern and Northern regions of Kazakhstan the majority of productive genotypes were in maturity groups MGI, MG0, and MG00, respectively. The accessions were genotyped for four major maturity genes (E1, E2, E3, and E4) in order to assess the relationship between E loci and agronomic traits. The allele composition of the majority of accessions was e1-as/e2/E3/E4 (specific frequencies 57.5%, 91.6%, 65.0%, and 63.3%, respectively). Accessions with dominant alleles in either E3 or E4 genes showed higher yield in all three regions, although the specific genotype associated with greatest productivity was different for each site. Genotype-environment interaction studies based on yield performances suggest that South-east and East regions formed one mega-environment, which was well separated from North Kazakhstan where significantly earlier time to maturation is required. The results provide important insights into the relationship between genetic and phenotypic patterns in new soybean growing territories in Kazakhstan.

Taxonomic assessment of Allium species from Kazakhstan based on ITS and matK markers

BackgroundAs part of nation-wide project to infer the genetic variation of the native flora in Kazakhstan, a study was attempted to assess phylogenetic relationships of endemic and rare Allium species. In total, 20 Allium species were collected in field trips in five different regions of Kazakhstan during 2015–2016. Most species (9) were collected in the southern part of the country along of Karatau mountains, followed by Altai mountains (5) in eastern Kazakhstan. The ITS and matK DNA regions were applied in order to assess the taxonomic relationships among species. The major goal of the study was to assess the taxonomic position of five endemic and rare species from Allium subgenus Reticulatobulbosa collected in Karatau mountains of Southern Kazakhstan.ResultsThe 20 collected Allium species were assessed using morphological traits and a DNA barcoding approach. The morphological analyses of four different species in subgenus Reticulatobulbosa inferred similarities of A. inconspicuum and A. barszchewskii (both from section Companulata) that were separated from A. oreoscordum and A. oreoprasoides (section Nigrimontana) by several traits, including form of bulbs and leaves, presence of bracts, shape of perianth lobes and style. The Neighbor-Joining method was applied to generate ITS and matK phylogenetic trees for two groups of populations: 1) 20 Allium species collected within the project, and 2) 50 Allium worldwide species.ConclusionsThe analyses of nucleotide sequences of ITS and matK robustly confirmed the monophyletic origin of the Allium species. The variability in 20 local Allium species in ITS was 6.6 higher than in matK, therefore the topology of the ITS tree was better resolved. The taxonomy of Allium species largely coincided with a recent classification of this genus. Analyses of both ITS and matK suggest that A. oreoscordum is genetically close to A. oreoprasoides in section Nigrimontana of subgenus Reticulatobulbosa. This result was also confirmed using morphological description of individual plants of four species in subgenus Reticulatobulbosa. The study is another contribution to taxonomy clarification in Allium.

Phylogenetic Taxonomy of Artemisia L. Species from Kazakhstan Based on Matk Analyses

Abstract The genus Artemisia is one of the largest of the Asteraceae family. It is abundant and diverse, with complex taxonomic relations. In order to expand the knowledge about the classification of Kazakhstan species and compare it with classical studies, matK genes of nine local species including endemic were sequenced. The infrageneric rank of one of them (A. kotuchovii) had remained unknown. In this study, we analysed results of sequences using two methods — NJ and MP and compared them with a median-joining haplotype network. As a result, monophyletic origin of the genus and subgenus Dracunculus was confirmed. Closeness of A. kotuchovii to other species of Dracunculus suggests its belonging to this subgenus. Generally, matK was shown as a useful barcode marker for the identification and investigation of Artemisia genus.

Marker-trait associations in two-rowed spring barley accessions from Kazakhstan and the USA

In this study, phenotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping data of 272 accessions of two-rowed spring barley from the USA along with 94 accessions from Kazakhstan were assessed in field trials at six breeding organizations in Kazakhstan to evaluate the performance of the USA samples over three years (2009–2011). The average grain yield over the six locations was not significantly higher in Kazakh accessions in comparison to the USA samples. Twenty four samples from Montana, Washington, the USDA station in Aberdeen Idaho, and the Anheuser-Busch breeding programs showed heavier average yield than the local standard cultivar “Ubagan”. Principal Coordinate analysis based on two sets of SNP data suggested that Kazakh accessions were closest to the USA accessions among eight groups of samples from different parts of the World, and within five US barley origin groups the samples from Montana and Washington perfectly matched six groups of Kazakh breeding origins. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) using data from eighteen field trials allowed the identification of ninety one marker-trait associations (MTA) in two or more environments for nine traits, including key characters such as heading time (HT), number of kernels per spike (NKS), and thousand grain weight (TGW). Our GWAS allowed the identification of eight MTA for HT and NKS, and sixteen MTA for TGW, when those MTA were linked to mapped SNPs. Based on comparisons of chromosomal positions of MTA identified in this study, and positions of known genes and quantitative trait loci for HT, NKS and TGW, it was suggested that MTA for HT on chromosome 2H (at 158.2 cM, 11_21414), MTA for NKS on 5H (at 118.6 cM, 11_20298), and two MTA for TGW on chromosome 4H (at 94.7 cM, 12_30718, and at 129.3 cM, 11_20013) were potentially new associations in barley. GWAS suggested that six MTA for HT, including two on chromosome 1H, two on chromosome 3H, and one each on chromosomes 4H and 6H, had useful pleiotropic effects for improving barley spike traits.

GWAS for plant growth stages and yield components in spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) harvested in three regions of Kazakhstan

BackgroundSpring wheat is the largest agricultural crop grown in Kazakhstan with an annual sowing area of 12 million hectares in 2016. Annually, the country harvests around 15 million tons of high quality grain. Despite environmental stress factors it is predicted that the use of new technologies may lead to increases in productivity from current levels of 1.5 to up to 3 tons per hectare. One way of improving wheat productivity is by the application of new genomic oriented approaches in plant breeding projects. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) are emerging as powerful tools for the understanding of the inheritance of complex traits via utilization of high throughput genotyping technologies and phenotypic assessments of plant collections. In this study, phenotyping and genotyping data on 194 spring wheat accessions from Kazakhstan, Russia, Europe, and CIMMYT were assessed for the identification of marker-trait associations (MTA) of agronomic traits by using GWAS.ResultsField trials in Northern, Central and Southern regions of Kazakhstan using 194 spring wheat accessions revealed strong correlations of yield with booting date, plant height, biomass, number of spikes per plant, and number of kernels per spike. The accessions from Europe and CIMMYT showed high breeding potential for Southern and Central regions of the country in comparison with the performance of the local varieties. The GGE biplot method, using average yield per plant, suggested a clear separation of accessions into their three breeding origins in relationship to the three environments in which they were evaluated. The genetic variation in the three groups of accessions was further studied using 3245 polymorphic SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) markers. The application of Principal Coordinate analysis clearly grouped the 194 accessions into three clades according to their breeding origins. GWAS on data from nine field trials allowed the identification of 114 MTAs for 12 different agronomic traits.ConclusionsField evaluation of foreign germplasm revealed its poor yield performance in Northern Kazakhstan, which is the main wheat growing region in the country. However, it was found that EU and CIMMYT germplasm has high breeding potential to improve yield performance in Central and Southern regions. The use of Principal Coordinate analysis clearly separated the panel into three distinct groups according to their breeding origin. GWAS based on use of the TASSEL 5.0 package allowed the identification of 114 MTAs for twelve agronomic traits. The study identifies a network of key genes for improvement of yield productivity in wheat growing regions of Kazakhstan.