Elymus canadensis

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Elymus canadensis
Elymus canadensisEVB.jpg
In cultivation for habitat restoration
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Elymus
Species:
E. canadensis
Binomial name
Elymus canadensis
Synonyms [2]
  • Clinelymus canadensis(L.) Nevski
  • Elymus brachystachysScribn. & C.R.Ball
  • Elymus canadensis subsp. wiegandii(Fernald) Á.Löve
  • Elymus crescendus(Ramaley) C.F.Wheeler
  • Elymus glaucifoliusMuhl. ex Willd.
  • Elymus philadelphicusL.
  • Elymus robustusScribn. & J.G.Sm.
  • Elymus wiegandiiFernald
  • Hordeum canadense(L.) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Hordeum patulumMoench, nom. superfl.
  • Roegneria canadensis(L.) Hyl.
  • Sitanion brodeiPiper
  • Terrellia canadensis(L.) Lunell

Elymus canadensis, synonyms including Elymus wiegandii, [2] commonly known as Canada wild rye or Canadian wildrye, is a species of wild rye native to much of North America. [3] It is most abundant in the central plains and Great Plains. It grows in a number of ecosystems, including woodlands, savannas, dunes, and prairies, sometimes in areas that have been disturbed. [4] [3]

Contents

Description

Canada wild rye is a perennial bunchgrass reaching heights of 1 to 1.5 metres (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 11 in). It grows from a small rhizome, forms a shallow, fine root network, and is a facultative mycotroph, receiving about 25% of its nutrients on average from symbiotic mycorrhizae. [5] Its stems are hollow and tough at maturity and bear rough, flat leaves. The leaves can reach 15 mm (0.59 in) in width and are 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) in length. [5] [3]

The inflorescence is a nodding spike up to 25 cm (10 in) long containing 5 to 20 spikelets. Each spikelet is 1 to 2 cm (12 to 34 in) long, not counting the sharp, hard, curling awn which may exceed 3 cm (1+14 in) in length. [5] [3]

Many forms and varieties have been named, but none are accepted at Kew's Plants of the World Online. [2]

Genetic application

The gene pool of Elymus canadensis can provide information on promoting disease resistance in Hordeum vulgare (barley). In two different Elymus canadensis × Hordeum vulgare hybrid groups, the ones with Elymus canadensis cytoplasm were missing a chromosome that was homologous to the barley chromosome 7, and the ones with the Hordeum vulgare cytoplasm were missing a chromosome homologous to barley chromosome 3. The lack of each of the chromosomes in the hybrids was not random, and were caused by differences in DNA methylation. Thus, further research can use these differences in order to figure out what exactly makes Elymus canadensis so hardy, and be able to integrate its hardiness into barley so that the crop can withstand more environmental stress. [6]

Elymus canadensis has also been shown to contain a novel high molecular weight (HMW) glutenin subunit (GS) allele. HMW-GS has been shown in wheat and other crops to determine its overall quality. Thus, further research could elaborate on the E. canadensis allele in order to improve our knowledge of HMW-GS' structural differentiation in different species, and its evolutionary history, in an attempt to increase crop quality through these alleles. [7]

Elymus canadensis has a familiar relationship as a host with a variety of endophytic fungi. Such a symbiotic relationship could be part of the reason why E. canadensis has been so successful as a prairie grass, and may have played a large influence in the grass's evolutionary history. In fact, research suggests that the Epichloe do not hinder seed production in the host plant, so the fungi do not obstruct E. canadensis's reproduction, and may in fact aid the process. [8] Further research can expand upon this fungal symbiotic relationship, perhaps to improve the success of agricultural crops. Specifically, research can examine if the different varieties of Epichloe will provide E. canadensis with agronomic qualities such as drought tolerance and field production. If this is supported, epichloe may be able to be used to improve the sustainability of crop populations that have a similar genetic makeup to E. canadensis. [9]

Use

Canada wild rye is sometimes used for stabilizing eroded areas and for vegetating metal-rich soils in reclaimed mines. [5]

Elymus canadensis is an allotetraploid, which mainly reproduces by self-pollination, but can cross-pollinate with several other strains of Elymus in order to provide more genetic variation. In addition, because of its ability to cross-pollinate, new species can emerge through nature or breeding programs, thereby contributing more plants that could potentially lead to novel crops. [10]

The cultivar 'Homestead' produces larger amounts of forage and has higher digestibility than "another adapted experimental strain" that it was compared against. The current primary use of 'Homestead' is intended for "conservation, roadside, and grassland seeding mixtures". [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hordeum</i> Genus of grasses

Hordeum is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triticeae</span> Tribe of grasses

Triticeae is a botanical tribe within the subfamily Pooideae of grasses that includes genera with many domesticated species. Major crop genera found in this tribe include wheat, barley, and rye; crops in other genera include some for human consumption, and others used for animal feed or rangeland protection. Among the world's cultivated species, this tribe has some of the most complex genetic histories. An example is bread wheat, which contains the genomes of three species with only one being a wheat Triticum species. Seed storage proteins in the Triticeae are implicated in various food allergies and intolerances.

<i>Hordeum jubatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Hordeum jubatum, with common names foxtail barley, bobtail barley, squirreltail barley, and intermediate barley, is a perennial plant species in the grass family Poaceae. It occurs wild mainly in northern North America and adjacent northeastern Siberia. However, as it escaped often from gardens it can be found worldwide in areas with temperate to warm climates, and is considered a weed in many countries. The species is a polyploid and originated via hybridization of an East Asian Hordeum species with a close but extinct relative of Californian H. brachyantherum. It is grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive inflorescences and when done flowering for its inflorescence.

Rhynchosporium secalis is an ascomycete fungus that is the causal agent of barley and rye scald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triticeae glutens</span> Seed storage protein in mature wheat seeds

Gluten is the seed storage protein in mature wheat seeds. It is the sticky substance in bread wheat which allows dough to rise and retain its shape during baking. The same, or very similar, proteins are also found in related grasses within the tribe Triticeae. Seed glutens of some non-Triticeae plants have similar properties, but none can perform on a par with those of the Triticeae taxa, particularly the Triticum species. What distinguishes bread wheat from these other grass seeds is the quantity of these proteins and the level of subcomponents, with bread wheat having the highest protein content and a complex mixture of proteins derived from three grass species.

<i>Tilletia caries</i> Species of fungus

Tilletia caries is a basidiomycete that causes common bunt of wheat. The common names of this disease are stinking bunt of wheat and stinking smut of wheat. This pathogen infects wheat, rye, and various other grasses. T. caries is economically and agriculturally important because it reduces both the wheat yield and grain quality.

<i>Puccinia coronata</i> Species of fungus

Puccinia coronata is a plant pathogen and causal agent of oat and barley crown rust. The pathogen occurs worldwide, infecting both wild and cultivated oats. Crown rust poses a threat to barley production, because the first infections in barley occur early in the season from local inoculum. Crown rusts have evolved many different physiological races within different species in response to host resistance. Each pathogenic race can attack a specific line of plants within the species typical host. For example, there are over 290 races of P. coronata. Crops with resistant phenotypes are often released, but within a few years virulent races have arisen and P. coronata can infect them.

<i>Hordeum murinum</i> Species of grass

Hordeum murinum is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as wall barley or false barley. It is a close relative of cultivated barley.

A doubled haploid (DH) is a genotype formed when haploid cells undergo chromosome doubling. Artificial production of doubled haploids is important in plant breeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barley</span> Cereal grain

Barley, a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikelets and making it much easier to harvest. Its use then spread throughout Eurasia by 2000 BC. Barley prefers relatively low temperatures and well-drained soil to grow. It is relatively tolerant of drought and soil salinity but is less winter-hardy than wheat or rye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Oak Ranch Reserve</span> Part of the University of California Natural Reserve System

The Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System, is an ecological reserve and biological field station in Santa Clara County, California. It is located on 3,260 acres (13.2 km2) in the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton, at 1,500 ft (460 m) elevation.

<i>Elymus virginicus</i> Species of grass

Elymus virginicus, or Virginia wildrye, is a perennial bunchgrass located in Virginia and the eastern United States. Virginia wild rye is one of the few cool season native grasses found in the east Texas area. It is extremely palatable to livestock and will decrease without proper grazing management. It spreads via seed and tillering. It can be confused with Canadian wild rye which is a more robust plant with longer awns. It should be cut early in the season when used for hay to avoid ergot contamination. Northern Missouri Germplasm Virginia wild rye was released in 1999 by the Missouri Plant Material Center for use in northern Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense</span>

Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense occurs when endophytic fungi, which live symbiotically with the majority of plants by entering their cells, are utilized as an indirect defense against herbivores. In exchange for carbohydrate energy resources, the fungus provides benefits to the plant which can include increased water or nutrient uptake and protection from phytophagous insects, birds or mammals. Once associated, the fungi alter nutrient content of the plant and enhance or begin production of secondary metabolites. The change in chemical composition acts to deter herbivory by insects, grazing by ungulates and/or oviposition by adult insects. Endophyte-mediated defense can also be effective against pathogens and non-herbivory damage.

<i>Psathyrostachys juncea</i> Species of grass

Psathyrostachys juncea is a species of grass known by the common name Russian wildrye. It was formerly classified as Elymus junceus. It is native to Russia and China, and has been introduced to other parts of the world, such as Canada and the United States. Psathyrostachys juncea is a great source of food for grazing animals, as it has high nutrition value in its dense basal leaves, even in the late summer and autumn seasons. This species can grow and prosper in many harsh environments, making it an ideal candidate for improvement as it can grow in areas were farming is difficult. This species is a drought-resistant forage plant and can survive during the cool seasons. It is also a cross-pollinator and is self-sterile. This means that P. juncea cannot self-fertilize; it must find another plant of the same species with which to exchange gametes. Self-sterilization increases the genetic diversity of a species.

<i>Elymus caninus</i> Species of grass

Elymus caninus, the bearded couch or bearded wheatgrass, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae that is native to Europe including the UK but can be found introduced in the US states of Oregon and Washington. E. caninus has been observed in two morphotypes; the first population being "pauciflorum," with the second being "caninus."

<i>Hordeum spontaneum</i> Species of grass

Hordeum spontaneum, commonly known as wild barley or spontaneous barley, is the wild form of the grass in the family Poaceae that gave rise to the cereal barley. Domestication is thought to have occurred on two occasions, first about ten thousand years ago in the Fertile Crescent and again later, several thousand kilometres further east.

<i>Epichloë festucae</i> Species of fungus

Epichloë festucae is a systemic and seed-transmissible endophytic fungus of cool season grasses.

Epichloë canadensis is a hybrid asexual species in the fungal genus Epichloë.

<i>Hordeum bulbosum</i> Species of plant in the Poaceae family

Hordeum bulbosum, bulbous barley, is a species of barley native to southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and as far east as Afghanistan, with a few naturalized populations in North America, South America and Australia. Since 1970 it has been used in the Hordeum bulbosum Method to produce doubled haploid (DH) wheat and barley plants by crossing it with T. aestivum or H. vulgare, followed by the elimination of the H. bulbosum chromosomes from the offspring. These DH plants are important in breeding new varieties of wheat and barley, and in scientific studies. H. bulbosum is also being looked at as a source of genes for disease resistance and other traits for barley crop improvement.

References

  1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Elymus canadensis L." Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jepson Manual Treatment
  4. Wilhelm, Gerould; Rericha, Laura (2017). Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Indiana Academy of Sciences.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Simonin, Kevin A. (2000). "Elymus canadensis". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  6. Dahleen, LS (1996). "Molecular marker analysis of hypoploid regenerants from cultures of barley x Canada wild rye". Genome. 39 (2): 367–372. doi:10.1139/g96-047. PMID   18469900.
  7. Jiang, QT; Wei, YM; Lu, ZX; Liu, T; Wang, JR; Pu, ZE; Lan, XJ; Zheng, YL (2010). "Characterization of a novel variant HMW-glutenin gene from Elymus canadensis". Genes & Genomics. 32 (4): 361–367. doi:10.1007/s13258-010-0028-3. S2CID   39315489.
  8. Saha, MC; Young, CA; Hopkins, AA (2009). "Genetic Variation within and among Wildrye (Elymus canadensis and E. virginicus) Populations from the Southern Great Plains". Crop Science. 49 (3): 913–922. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2008.04.0239 .
  9. Vinton, MA; Kathol, ES; Vogel, KP; Hopkins, AA (2001). "Endophytic fungi in Canada wild rye in natural grasslands". Journal of Range Management. 54 (4): 390–395. doi: 10.2458/azu_jrm_v54i4_vinton . hdl: 10150/643885 . JSTOR   4003108.
  10. Baum, B; Edwards, T; Poomareva, E; Johnson, D (2012). "Are the Great Plains wildrye (Elymus canadensis) and the Siberian wildrye (Elymus sibiricus) conspecific? A study based on the nuclear 5S rDNA sequences". Botany. 90 (6): 407. doi:10.1139/b2012-013.
  11. Vogel, KP; Mitchell, RB; Baltensperger, DD; Johnson, KD; Carlson, IT (2010). "Registration of 'Homestead' Canada Wildrye". Journal of Plant Registrations. 4 (2): 123–126. doi:10.3198/jpr2009.10.0588crc.