Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization of Two Recombinant Inbred Oat Populations for Grain Quality.

Oat has many uses worldwide: food industry and animal feed. The use of oats for human consumption is increasing every day due to the health benefits of oat bran. Oat products reduce cholesterol and arthrosclerosis, decrease the risk of diabetes, and provide antioxidant protection and supply a number of important nutrients. With the objective to study relationships among factors affecting oat grain quality, and to assess quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with each of these traits, two F_4:6 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RIL) mapping populations developed by Single Seed Descent (SSD) have been used in this study. The first population (05021) consisted in 97 RILs derived from the cross ‘ND030299 x ND991151’ and the second population (05026) with 93 RILs was derived from the cross ‘ND030299 x ND961161’. The 190 RILs from the two populations with the three parents and three check cultivars (HIFI, HIFI-9, and YOUNGS) were evaluated in a square lattice design (14x14) with two replicates in 2008 and 2009 at two North Dakota locations: Fargo and Casselton. Data were recorded on a plot basis for all experiments on the following agronomic traits: Grain yield, test weight, 1000 kernel weight, broken or damage kernels, heading date, and height. Chemical analysis and grain physical analysis were performed for β-glucan and oil content, groat percentage and dehulling efficiency. Heritability estimates combined across environments were calculated for each trait. Using covariance parameters, genotypic and phenotypic correlations between traits were also estimated. After looking for normality and homogeneity of variance, a combined ANOVA (year and locations combined) was performed, using the MIXED procedure from SAS, where environments were considered random and genotypes were considered fixed. The results will be presented during the meeting.