Markers to Maps to Molecules: Moving forward on Genetic Dissection of Oat Beta Glucan

Physically anchored consensus maps are key tools in modern genomics research which enable gene discovery and cloning.  Until recently, this tool has been absent from oat research community due to the scarcity of robust molecular marker assays which are antagonized by the size and complexity of the oat genome.  The Collaborative Oat Research Enterprise (CORE) has identified tens of thousands of in silico SNPs from transcriptome and DArTome-based sequences using novel SNP discovery methods for complex genomes.  These were filtered and tested using  4,608 pilot assays to identify a set of 1,872 high quality SNP assays which were used to construct the first consensus map of cultivated oat.  A new chromosome deficient hybrid anchoring method was used to assign the 21 consensus groups to chromosomes.  Efforts are now underway to identify and study candidate genes for key traits like beta glucan.  To date, genes in the beta glucan biosynthetic pathway have been identified using a QTL/Comparative mapping approach.  This work has led to the cloning and study of the cellulose synthase-like (CSLF6) genes responsible for beta glucan production.  Overall, several new methods have been developed by the CORE which have opened the door for gene discovery and subsequent allelic dissection of the polyploid oat genome and how it affects the production of key traits.