Genetic diversity of 19 forage-type and 2 turf-type cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) was revealed using SSR markers in an attempt to explore the genetic relationships among them, and examine potential use of SSR markers to identify cultivars by bulked samples. A total of 227 clear band was scored with 14 SSR primers and out of which 201 (88.6 %) were found polymorphic. The percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) per primer pair varied from 62.5 to 100 % with an average of 86.9 %. The polymorphism information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.116 to 0.347 with an average of 0.257 and the highest PIC value (0.347) was noticed for primer NFA040 followed by NFA113 (0.346) whereas the highest discriminating power (D) of 1 was shown in NFA037 and LMgSSR02-01C. A Neighbor-joining dendrogram and the principal component analysis identified six major clusters and grouped the cultivars in agreement with their breeding histories. STRUCTURE analysis divided these cultivars into 3 sub-clades which correspond to distance based groupings. These findings indicates that SSR markers by bulking strategy are a useful tool to measure genetic diversity among tall fescue cultivars and could be used to supplement morphological data for plant variety protection.

Indigofera pseudotinctoria Mats is an agronomically and economically important perennial legume shrub with a high forage yield, protein content and strong adaptability, which is subject to natural habitat fragmentation and serious human disturbance. Until now, our knowledge of the genetic relationships and intraspecific genetic diversity for its wild collections is still poor, especially at small spatial scales. Here amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technology was employed for analysis of genetic diversity, differentiation, and structure of 364 genotypes of I. pseudotinctoria from 15 natural locations in Wushan Montain, a highly structured mountain with typical karst landforms in Southwest China. We also tested whether eco-climate factors has affected genetic structure by correlating genetic diversity with habitat features. A total of 515 distinctly scoreable bands were generated, and 324 of them were polymorphic. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.694 to 0.890 with an average of 0.789 per primer pair. On species level, Nei’s gene diversity (H_j), the Bayesian genetic diversity index (H_B) and the Shannon information index (I) were 0.2465, 0.2363 and 0.3772, respectively. The high differentiation among all sampling sites was detected (F_ST = 0.2217, G_ST = 0.1746, G’_ST = 0.2060, θ^B = 0.1844), and instead, gene flow among accessions (N_m = 1.1819) was restricted. The population genetic structure resolved by the UPGMA tree, principal coordinate analysis, and Bayesian-based cluster analyses irrefutably grouped all accessions into two distinct clusters, i.e., lowland and highland groups. The population genetic structure resolved by the UPGMA tree, principal coordinate analysis, and Bayesian-based cluster analyses irrefutably grouped all accessions into two distinct clusters, i.e., lowland and highland groups. This structure pattern may indicate joint effects by the neutral evolution and natural selection. Restricted N_m was observed across all accessions, and genetic barriers were detected between adjacent accessions due to specifically geographical landform.

Start codon targeted polymorphism (SCoT) analysis was employed to distinguish 37 whipgrass (Hemarthria compressa L.) clones and assess the genetic diversity and population structure among these genotypes. The informativeness of markers was also estimated using various parameters. Using 25 highly reproducible primer sets, 368 discernible fragments were generated. Of these, 282 (77.21%) were polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from five to 21, and the genetic variation indices varied. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.358, the Shannon diversity index (H) was 0.534, the marker index (MI) was 4.040, the resolving power (RP) was 6.108, and the genotype index (GI) was 0.782. Genetic similarity coefficients (GS) between the accessions ranged from 0.563 to 0.872, with a mean of 0.685. Their patterns observed in a dendrogram constructed using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean analysis (UPGMA) based on GS largely confirmed the results of principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). PCoA was further confirmed by Bayesian model-based STRUCTURE analysis, which revealed no direct association between genetic relationship and geographical origins as validated by Mantel’s test (r = 0.2268, p = 0.9999). In addition, high-level genetic variation within geographical groups was significantly greater than that between groups, as determined by Shannon diversity analysis, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and Bayesian analysis. Overall, SCoT analysis is a simple, effective and reliable technique for characterizing and maintaining germplasm collections of whipgrass and related species.

Glaciation and mountain orogeny have generated new ecologic opportunities for plants, favoring an increase in the speciation rate. Moreover, they also act as corridors or barriers for plant lineages and populations. High genetic diversity ensures that species are able to survive and adapt. Gene flow is one of the most important determinants of the genetic diversity and structure of out-crossed species, and it is easily affected by biotic and abiotic factors. The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of an alpine species, Festuca ovina L., in Xinjiang, China. A total of 100 individuals from 10 populations were analyzed using six amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs. A total of 583 clear bands were generated, of which 392 were polymorphic; thus, the percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) was 67.24%. The total and average genetic diversities were 0.2722 and 0.2006 (0.1686–0.2225), respectively. The unweighted group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) tree, principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and Structure analyses revealed that these populations or individuals could be clustered into two groups. The analysis of molecular variance analysis (AMOVA) suggested that most of the genetic variance existed within a population, and the genetic differentiation (Fst) among populations was 20.71%. The Shannon differentiation coefficient (G’st) among populations was 0.2350. Limited gene flow (Nm = 0.9571) was detected across all sampling sites. The Fst and Nm presented at different levels under the genetic barriers due to fragmentation. The population genetic diversity was significant relative to environmental factors such as temperature, altitude and precipitation.

Biogas slurry with rich nutrients could be applied as fertilizer to improve nitrogen absorption and soil structure. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial soil microorganisms that establish mutualistic relationships with the plant roots. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of AMF and biogas slurry treatment on hybrid Pennisetum growth, soil chemical properties, and soil microorganisms. The results revealed that the biomass yield of hybrid Pennisetum was significantly increased after the application of biogas slurry, and it reached the peak values when the biogas slurry dosage was 900 t/hm², which were 13,216.67 kg/hm² and 13,733.33 kg/hm² in AMF− and AMF+ treatment groups, respectively. Moreover, biogas slurry treatment has a significant promoting effect on other agronomic traits related to biomass yield. As for soil chemical indicators, the contents of total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and available phosphorus in the soil increased with the increase in biogas slurry application, while the soil organic matter was decreased. The addition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi significantly increased the species diversity of soil fungi with no biogas slurry application. Furthermore, when biogas slurry was applied, it had no significant effect on soil microbial diversity and composition, no matter the AMF+ or AMF− treatment. The research results can provide a reference for the long-term utilization of biogas slurry and it also can be used in the actual production of hybrid Pennisetum.