Genetic Diversity of Prairie Cordgrass Natural Populations From the USA.

Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link) is a perennial warm-season indigenous throughout most of the continental United States. High biomass yield potential and excellent stress tolerance offer Prairie cordgrass much promise as a bioenergy feedstock on marginal land. The objective of this study was to assess genetic diversity and determine differences among 45 prairie cordgrass natural populations collected across the USA. In order to determine ecotypic and/or geographical differences at the population level, 45 natural populations of prairie cordgrass was arranged in a space-planted plot in Urbana, IL in 2010. Three years’ evaluation of continued plots has showed high level of phenotypic variation among populations. Latitude of origin and heading date were highly correlated with biomass yield. Three of the phenotypic factors, height, phytomer number and reproductive tiller number were most important indirect selection traits for increasing biomass yield under space-plant conditions. A phylogenetic analysis based on phenotypic markers divided natural populations of prairie cordgrass into geographic origins. Our data indicates that there is an extensive genetic variation in native prairie cordgrass and this information could be useful for future breeding programs of prairie cordgrass.