The international PanOat consortium, which includes the IBERS research institute at Aberystwyth University, has looked at how oat genes are expressed during development in different genetic backgrounds.
From this, the team has created what it describes as ‘the first oat pan-transcriptome’ – a sort of master guide for all the gene activity across many oat varieties.
The researchers say this work will help plant breeders develop better oat varieties and further enhance the health benefits of this crop – which is high in fibre, gluten-free and proven to lower cholesterol levels.
A breakthrough for modern oat breeding
Whilst oats have been eaten for thousands of years, their complex genomes are difficult to understand, as Dr Tim Langdon from the oat research team at IBERS explained: “Oats contain three genomes, each larger than the human one, and these genomes first combined in wild progenitors millions of years ago. Since then, wild oats have been shedding genes and rearranging chromosomes as they adapt to different environments.
“Modern breeding aims to combine the best traits from the various lineages that emerged, but those efforts may be hampered by a lack of understanding around how the genomes differ and how certain rearrangements of chromosomes can lead to incompatibility and failed crosses.
“Now, the PanOat consortium has created the most detailed pangenome ever – in effect, a gene atlas or library of all the different variants of oat you’re likely to come across in a breeding programme. This will significantly expand the genomic resources available to researchers and have an immediate impact on genomics-assisted plant breeding, helping to accelerate the development of even better oat varieties and bring benefits to consumers, farmers and millers as well as the wider environment.
“Understanding how to combine different lineages is particularly important for the UK which is unusual in growing winter oats. Transferring the right traits from spring or wild material has to go hand in hand with enhancing adaption to changing winter weather.”
Climate resilient oats
In a complementary study led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), scientists have also carried out a detailed analysis of the genetic variation of oats, examining more than 9,000 distinct varieties of wild and cultivated oats from across the world.
The aim of the study was to identify different genetic populations and how their structure has adapted to local environments.
The work revealed that cultivated oats resulted from multiple domestication of wild species, with reproductive barriers being caused by differential chromosome structure between populations.
Dr Catherine Howarth, who leads the oat breeding research programme at IBERS, focused on analysing the structure of winter oats. She drew on the seed bank at Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, which stores varieties from all over the world – some dating back more than a century.
“One of the strengths of this project is the pooling of knowledge and expertise from across the globe. No single research institution would have the capacity to do work on this scale but together we’ve been able to map out an incredibly detailed genetic atlas for oats,” she said.
“We hope these findings and genomic tools will help inform targeted breeding strategies to develop climate-resilient oat varieties with improved yield stability and health benefits under changing environmental conditions.”
