Nuclear DNA content variation of three Miscanthus species in China

In order to estimate the variation in nuclear genome size in Miscanthus, flow cytometry of nuclei stained by propidium iodide was carried out using 36 populations of three Miscanthus species: M. lutarioriparius, M. sacchariflorus and M. sinensis, which were sampled from cold northern to warm and humid southern and central China, as well as near the sea level in eastern China to mountains in western China. The DNA content of diploid was 4.37 ± 0.02 pg/2C in M. lutarioriparius, 4.37 ± 0.01 pg/2C in M. sacchariflorus, and 5.37 ± 0.03 pg/2C in M. sinensis, respectively. There was no intraspecific variation in the three Miscanthus species at the diploid level, suggesting that the genome size was stable within species and the diverse environments did not induce variation in genome size at the diploid level. However, tetraploid populations were found in M. lutarioriparius and M. sacchariflorus, and their genome sizes were 8.56 and 8.54 pg, respectively, which are lower than expected values (8.74 pg), indicating the genome downsizing after polyploidization in the genus. Our results showed that the plant height of M. lutarioriparius was the highest one among the three species and the species was more closely related to M. sacchariflorus than M. sinensis. The intra-species genomic variation and inter-species differentiation in Miscanthus species provide important genetic and genomic information for the development of Miscanthus, especially for the endemic species, M. lutarioriparius, (together with Miscanthus × giganteus) which are now emerging as a key bio-energy crop because of their high yields and strong adaptability.