Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 April 2009
False brome grass, Brachypodium distachyon (L.) Beauv, has been proposedas a new model species to bridge rice and temperate cereal crops for genomics research.However, much basic information for this species is still lacking. In this study, sixdiploid B. distachyon(2n = 2x = 10)accessions (Bd1-1, Bd2-3, Bd3-1, Bd18-1, Bd21 and BD29) were evaluated for their responseto infestation by two cereal aphid pests of common wheat (Triticumaestivum L.): the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, and theRussian wheat aphid (RWA), Diuraphis noxia Mordvilko. Through databasemining of B. distachyon expressed sequence tag (EST) and genomic DNAsequences, 160 EST- and 21 genomic microsatellite markers were developed and used toevaluate genetic diversity among the B. distachyon accessions. All sixaccessions were resistant to RWA biotype RWA1 but showed distinct responses to feeding bygreenbug biotypes C and E, as well as RWA2 RWAs. Although microsatellite-based geneticdiversity among different accessions was generally low, Bd1-1 and BD29 were the mostdiverged from the other four lines. The genetic divergence was correlated withgeographical distances between the Brachypodium accessions. Comparison ofsimple sequence repeat polymorphisms in three inbred lines (Bd2-3, Bd3-1 and Bd18-1) withtheir respective original parental lines revealed no effect of inbreeding on geneticdiversity. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that Aegilops tauschii (Coss.)Schmal., the D genome donor of common wheat, was closer to B. distachyonthan to rice. The greenbug - B. distachyon system seemsto be a model of choice for plant–aphid interaction studies in the grassgenome.