Aaron D. Beattie

• PhD
• Plant Breeder at University of Saskatchewan

The genus Avena consists of approximately 30 wild and cultivated oat species. Cultivated oat is an important food crop, yet the broader genetic diversity within the Avena gene pool remains underexplored and underexploited. We characterized over 9,000 wild and cultivated hexaploid oat accessions of global origin using genotyping-by-sequencing. We ex...

Loose smut (LS) disease is a serious problem that affects barley yield. Breeding of resistant cultivars and identifying new genes controlling LS has received very little attention. Therefore, it is important to understand the genetic basis of LS control in order to genetically improve LS resistance. To address this challenge, a set of 57 highly div...

Three Hordeum spontaneum-derived resistances (referred to as 145L2, 41T1 and 40Y5) have demonstrated long-term effectiveness against barley scald, caused by Rhynchosporium commune, in western Canada. Genetic mapping of these resistances in three populations, and the use of five barley genome assemblies, revealed they co-located to a narrowly define...

Forages are an important component in dairy cow diets and barley silage is the primary forage source in western Canada and parts of the USA. Foliar fungal diseases can infect barley, thereby causing leaf damage and a loss of yield and quality. The objectives were to determine the effects of foliar fungicide application on two barley forage varietie...

Hulled and hull-less barley grains containing low insoluble fiber are alternative energy sources in weaning diets but are typically not part of weaned pig diets. The range in fermentable starch and fiber content among barley cultivars presents opportunities to investigate whether these fermentable carbohydrates of barley grain do influence nutrient...

Spot blotch, caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana , is a growing concern for barley ( Hordeum vulgare ) production in most humid, temperate growing regions of the world. Under epidemic conditions, this disease can reduce yields significantly. Reduction of kernel plumpness is associated with lower malt extract and consequently grain quality. Enhanced res...

Forages are the foundation of dairy cow diets and typically comprise 50% of the dietary dry matter and ≥40% of the total NEL intake. New forage barley (CDC Renegade; designated RENE) and forage oat (CDC Arborg; ARBO) varieties are available for feeding dairy cows in western Canada. The objectives were to determine the ensiling characteristics of RE...

Low-temperature stress (LTS) is among the major abiotic stresses affecting the geographical distribution and productivity of the most important crops. Understanding the genetic basis of photosynthetic variation under cold stress is necessary for developing more climate-resilient barley cultivars. To that end, we investigated the ability of chloroph...

Studying the population structure and genetic diversity of historical datasets is a proposed use for association analysis. This is particularly important when the dataset contains traits that are time-consuming or costly to measure. A set of 96 elite barley genotypes, developed from eight breeding programs of the Western Canadian Cooperative Trials...

Barley loose smut has been effectively controlled for decades through resistance conferred by the Un8 gene. However, evaluation of loose smut reaction using floret inoculation at the standard inoculum concentration is associated with the production of small, discolored seeds in Un8 carriers and susceptible genotypes. Interestingly, Un8 carriers als...

Loose smut (LS) disease is a serious problem that affects barley yield. Breeding for resistant cultivars and identifying new genes controlling LS has received very little attention. Therefore, it is important to understand the genetic control of this disease to order to genetically improve LS resistance. To address this challenge, a set of 60 highl...

As genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) is widely used in barley genetic studies, the translation of the physical position of GBS-derived SNPs into accurate genetic positions has become relevant. The main aim of this study was to develop a high-resolution consensus linkage map based on GBS-derived SNPs. The construction of this integrated map involved 11...

Most oat grains destined for human consumption must possess the ability to pass through an industrial de-hulling process with minimal breakage and waste. Uniform grain size and a high groat to hull ratio are desirable traits related to milling performance. The purpose of this study was to characterize the genetic architecture of traits related to m...

Barley grain containing more fermentable starch or fiber might be an attractive energy source in weaned pig diets due to benefits on gut health. Barley rapidly-fermentable carbohydrates may serve as prebiotic and slowly-fermentable fiber may decrease diarrhea in weaned pigs. Steam-explosion processing may disrupt the fiber matrix of hulls, increasi...

As barley and oat production have recently increased in Canada, it has become prudent to investigate these cereal crops as potential feedstocks for alcoholic fermentation. Ethanol and other coproduct yields can vary substantially among fermented feedstocks, which currently consist primarily of wheat and corn. In this study, the liquified mash of mi...

Various types of malt quality profiles have been investigated to benefit the North American brewing industry. Herein, we report the development and brewing quality of the hulled, two-row malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) variety ‘CDC Goldstar’ lacking lipoxygenase-1 (LOX-1-less). This new variety offers a novel malt type for the improvement of be...

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most important global crops. The six-row barley cultivar Morex reference genome has been used by the barley research community worldwide. However, this reference genome can have limitations when used for genomic and genetic diversity analysis studies, gene discovery, and marker development when working in t...

Stem rust is an important disease of cultivated oat (Avena sativa) caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae. In North America, host resistance is the primary strategy to control this disease and is conferred by a relatively small number of resistance genes. Pg2 is a widely deployed stem rust resistance gene that originates from cultivated oat. Oat...

Key message SNP loci linked to the crown rust resistance gene Pc98 were identified by linkage analysis and KASP assays were developed for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs. Abstract Crown rust is among the most damaging diseases of oat and is caused by Puccinia coronata var. avenae f. sp. avenae (Urban and Marková) (Pca). Host resista...

Crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae Eriks. (Pca), is among the most important oat diseases resulting in significant yield losses in many growing regions. A gene-for-gene interaction is well established in this pathosystem and has been exploited by oat breeders to control crown rust. Pc39 is a seedling crown rust resistance gene th...

Key message The widely deployed, oat stem rust resistance gene Pg13 was mapped by linkage analysis and association mapping, and KASP markers were developed for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs. Abstract Pg13 is one of the most extensively deployed stem rust resistance genes in North American oat cultivars. Identification of markers t...

The aim of this study was to determine the potential for accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON) in yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) reared on high DON Fusarium-infected wheat and investigate the effects on production, survival and nutritional traits. Wheat containing 200 µg/kg DON was used as the control diet. A different source of wheat was...

Molecular mapping of crown rust resistance genes is important to effectively utilize these genes and improve breeding efficiency through marker-assisted selection. Pc45 is a major race-specific crown rust resistance gene initially identified in the wild hexaploid oat Avena sterilis in the early 1970s. This gene was transferred to cultivated oat (Av...

This study aimed to investigate the effect of heat processing on ruminal degradation characteristics and in vitro intestinal digestion of oat grain from the cultivars CDC Nasser and CDC Seabiscuit. Oat grain was sampled from harvested plots (n=2) grown in 2014 and 2015. Each sample (1kg) was subsampled into 4 portions and each portion was subjected...

This study aimed to: (1) evaluate the heat processing effect on predicted nutrient supply to the small intestine (SI) in dairy cows; (2) detect associations between nutrient supply and protein molecular structure profiles of oat grain using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier transform molecular spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Oat grain was sampled from...

Two metabolism studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of variety and level of inclusion of barley silage on ruminal fermentation and total tract nutrient digestibility using beef heifers fed backgrounding (Study 1) and finishing (Study 2) diets. Both studies were 4 × 4 Latin square designs with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement (barley varieties...

Three Galium species are believed to be present across western Canada: Galium aparine, Galium spurium and Galium boreale. Galium spurium and G. aparine are very difficult to distinguish morphologically, which is problematic for crop consultants and weed surveyors, and could have implications for control measures. Molecular techniques could potentia...

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is a bloat‐free, perennial forage legume adapted to the northern temperate regions of the world. This study was carried out to evaluate phenotypic variation and nutritive value of 38 sainfoin accessions from 21 different countries. A field trial was established in 2014 using a randomized complete block design...

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of pre-treating dairy cow rations with a fibrolytic enzyme derived from Trichoderma reesei (FETR, mixture of xylanase and cellulase; AB Vista, UK) on lactation performance, digestibility, and feeding behavior in response to feeding barley silage-based diet. Before starting the dairy trial, i...

This study evaluated the effect of variety (V; CDC Cowboy, CDC Copeland, and Xena) and stage of harvest maturity (M; milk, early-, mid-, and hard-dough) on nutrient and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) characteristics of barley forage using a randomized complete block design with 3 × 4 factorial treatment arrangement. Barley varieties h...

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is a perennial forage legume widely distributed in the northern temperate regions of the world. Its genetic improvement has been relatively slow due, in part, to the lack of genetic information including molecular characterization of sainfoin germplasm. An attempt was made to evaluate genetic diversity and rel...

Main conclusion: Two new peroxygenases for the biosynthesis of epoxy fatty acids in oat were identified and functionally analyzed by heterologous expression along with rationally designed site-directed mutagenesis. Oat (Avena sativa L.) contains a large family of peroxygenases, a group of heme-containing monooxygenases catalyzing hydroperoxide-dep...

Background: Changes in whole-grain chemical composition can affect the site of nutrient digestion, which may alter substrate availability and gut microbiota composition. Objective: This study elucidated the function of whole-grain fermentable fiber composition on ileal substrate flow, hindgut substrate availability, and subsequent gut microbial pro...

There is limited knowledge on the effect of barley silage (BS) with different ruminal in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (ivNDFD) on dairy cow performance and chewing activity. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of BS varieties selected for varying rates of ivNDFD on lactation performance and chewing activity of high-...

The objectives of this study were to assess the magnitude of differences among barley silages with different in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (ivNDFD) in comparison with corn silage in (1) predicted carbohydrate digestibility, (2) rumen fermentation characteristics, and (3) microbial protein synthesis using rumen simulation technique...

Oat crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae, is a major constraint to oat production in many parts of the world. In this first comprehensive multi-environment genomewide association map of oat crown rust, we used 2,972 SNPs genotyped on 631 oat lines for association mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL). Seedling reaction to crown...

The objective of this experiment was to determine whether feeding frequency of whole-crop oat forage harvested at 2 maturities affects forage intake and ruminal fermentation. Whole-crop oat forage (c.v. Weaver, Crop Development Centre, Saskatoon, SK, Canada) harvested at the hard dough and ripe stages were offered ad libitum either daily (1-D) or o...

Background: Variant chemical composition and physical structure of whole grains may change the site of energy digestion from the small to the large intestine. Objective: We determined the site of nutrient digestion, standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AAs), and net energy (NE) value of barley cultivars that vary in nutrient co...

This study evaluated the nutritional and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) characteristics of seven barley varieties (‘Conlon’, ‘CDC Copeland’, ‘CDC Cowboy’, ‘Falcon’, ‘Legacy’, ‘AC Metcalfe’, and ‘Xena’) grown for silage. Commercial samples (n = 80) harvested at the mid-dough stage were collected over 2 years (2012 and 2013). Average pH...

The effect of cereal grain composition and soybean meal in its native (soybean meal [SBM]) or autoclaved (autoclaved soybean meal [aSBM]) form on growth performance, nutrient flow, and digestibility was evaluated in pigs. Weaned barrows (n = 36; 7.7 ± 1.02 kg BW) were fed 1 of 6 diets in a 3 cereal grains (wheat, digestible hull-less barley [dHB],...

Key message: Using next-generation DNA sequencing, it was possible to clarify the genetic relationships of Avena species and deduce the likely pathway from which hexaploid oat was formed by sequential polyploidization events. A sequence-based diversity study was conducted on a representative sample of accessions from species in the genus Avena usi...

The objectives were to evaluate the effect of harvest maturity of whole-crop oat (Study 1) and whole-crop barley (Study 2) on forage intake and sorting, ruminal fermentation, ruminal digestibility, and total tract digestibility when fed to beef heifers. In Study 1, 3 ruminally cannulated heifers (417 ± 5 kg) were used in a 3 × 3 Latin square design...

Six hundred thirty five oat lines and 4,561 SNP loci were used to evaluate population structure, linkage disequilibrium (LD) and genotype-phenotype association with heading date. The first five principal components (PC) accounted for 25.3% of genetic variation. Neither the eigenvalues of the first 25 PC nor the cross-validation errors from K=1 to 2...

Hexaploid oat (Avena sativa L., 2n = 6x = 42) is a member of the Poaceae family and has a large genome (~12.5 Gb) containing 21 chromosome pairs from three ancestral genomes. Physical rearrangements among parental genomes have hindered the development of linkage maps in this species. The objective of this work was to develop a single high-density c...

The objectives were to evaluate the effect of harvest maturity of whole-crop oat (Study 1) and whole-crop barley (Study 2) on forage intake and sorting, ruminal fermentation, ruminal digestibility, and total tract digestibility when fed to beef heifers. In Study 1, 3 ruminally cannulated heifers (417 ± 5 kg) were used in a 3 × 3 Latin square design...

Key message The candidate gene for the barley Un8 true loose smut resistance gene encodes a deduced protein containing two tandem protein kinase domains. Abstract In North America, durable resistance against all known isolates of barley true loose smut, caused by the basidiomycete pathogen Ustilago nuda (Jens.) Rostr. (U. nuda), is under the con...

Key message Genetic analysis and genome mapping of a major seedling oat crown rust resistance gene, designated PcKM, are described. The chromosomal location of the PcKM gene was identified and linked markers were validated. Abstract Crown rust (Puccinia coronata Corda f. sp. avenae Eriks) is the most important foliar disease of oats and can cause c...

Barley has a long history of use in food applications and, in the ancient world, was grown primarily as a food staple. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in growing barley as a food grain due to the presence of β-glucans, which have been proven to lower cholesterol and alleviate the risk of heart disease in humans. Consumer interest in foods...

Background Crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae, is the most important disease of oat worldwide. Adult plant resistance (APR), based upon partial resistance, has proven to be a durable rust management strategy in other cereal rust pathosystems. The crown rust APR in the oat line MN841801 has been effective for more than 30 years. T...

The production of doubled haploid (DH) plants from microspores is an important technique used in plant breeding programs and basic research. Although doubled haploidy efficiencies in wheat and barley are sufficient for breeding purposes, oat (Avena sativa L.) is considered recalcitrant. The objective of this project was to develop a protocol for th...

Abstract Text: Chemical components of cereal grains such as amylose, β-glucan (BG), and total dietary fiber (TDF) may influence energy digestion in the gut. The objective was to determine the association between composition of barley and wheat and the site of energy digestion in pigs. Seven ileal-cannulated barrows were allotted to a 6 (periods)...

Four newly developed huless barley cultivars with altered carbohydrate traits were developed at the Crop Development Centre (CDC), University of Saskatchewan which varied for amylose (1 to 40% DM), and β-glucan (5 to 10% DM) content. The four hulless barley cultivars include zero-amylose waxy, CDC Fibar; 5%-amylose waxy, CDC Rattan; normal-amylose,...

Hulless barley breeding lines varying in amylose (1–20% DM) and β-glucan content (5–10% DM) have been developed at the Crop Development Centre, Canada. The objectives of this large-scale study were to 1) determine and confirm the effect of these new hulless barley lines (zero-amylose waxy, CDC Fibar; 5%-amylose waxy, CDC Rattan; normal-amylose, CDC...

Synchrotron-based Fourier Transform Infrared Microspectroscopy (SR-FTIRM) technique was used to quantify molecular structural features of the four hulless barley lines with altered carbohydrate traits (amylose: 1 to 40% DM; β-glucan: 5 to 10% DM) in relation to rumen degradation kinetics, intestinal nutrient digestion and predicted protein supply....

A physically anchored consensus map is foundational to modern genomics research; however, construction of such a map in oat (Avena sativa L., 2n = 6x = 42) has been hindered by the size and complexity of the genome, the scarcity of robust molecular markers, and the lack of aneuploid stocks. Resources developed in this study include a modified SNP d...

Race-specific seedling resistance genes are the primary means of controlling crown rust of oat caused by Puccinia coronata Corda f. sp. avenae Eriks in Canada. Pc91 is a seedling crown rust resistance gene that is highly effective against the current crown rust population in North America. A number of race-specific resistance genes have been mapped...

Four hulless barley cultivars (zero-amylose waxy, CDC Fibar; 5%-amylose waxy, CDC Rattan; normal-amylose, CDC McGwire and high-amylose, HB08302) were developed at the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, with differences in carbohydrates traits on the basis of amylose (1–20% DM) and β-glucan (5–10% DM) content. The objectives of thi...

The objective of this study was to determine how harvest maturity of whole-crop cereals commonly used in swathgrazing systems in western Canada affects yield, chemical composition, and in situ digestibility. We hypothesized that the increase in yield with advancing maturity would not offset the decline in digestibility and thus, the yield of effect...

Colinearity of SNP loci mapping to chromosomes 9D and 15A. (TIF)

A 21-chromosome anchored consensus map of oat. (TIF)

Correspondence of consensus chromosomes with published KO linkage groups. (DOCX)

SNP deletion analysis of monosomic hybrid stocks representing chromosomes 6C and 9D. (TIF)

Details for regions of sequence similarity between SNP markers on 21 chromosomes from an oat consensus map and chromosomes from the sequenced genomes of Brachypodium distachyon and Oryza sativa . (XLSX)

Pedigree data for 20 genotypes selected for transcriptome sequencing and SNP identification and for 109 genotypes selected to represent genetic diversity in North American oat germplasm. (XLSX)

Consensus map and component maps from six bi-parental mapping populations, including original SNP genotype calls for component mapping populations. (XLSX)

Sequences for in silico SNP assays analyzed with the GoldenGate genotyping platform. (XLSX)

The first doubled haploid oat linkage map constructed at MTT Agrifood Research Finland was supplemented with additional microsatellites and Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers to produce a map containing 1058 DNA markers and 34 linkage groups. The map was used to locate quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 11 important breeding traits analyzed...

During the malting process, barley is germinated via a carefully controlled procedure so that its components are degraded to sugars, amino acids, and other low molecular weight compounds that can be used for subsequent fermentation. One of the most important of these processes is the hydrolysis of proteins into peptides and amino acids. During seed...

Crown rust is an important disease of oat caused by Puccinia coronata Corda f. sp. avenae Eriks. Crown rust is efficiently and effectively managed through the development of resistant oat varieties. Pc91 is a seedling crown rust resistance gene that is highly effective against the current P. coronata population in North America. The primary objecti...

Genetic markers are pivotal to modern genomics research; however, discovery and genotyping of molecular markers in oat has been hindered by the size and complexity of the genome, and by a scarcity of sequence data. The purpose of this study was to generate oat expressed sequence tag (EST) information, develop a bioinformatics pipeline for SNP disco...

Command line processing of header files and sequences for SNP candidate design. Powerpoint file displaying command line processing of header files and sequences for SNP candidate design.

Primer and allele sequences of SNP markers mapped in the Ogle1040/TAM O-301 RIL population. Word DOC file displaying primer and allele sequences of SNP markers mapped in the Ogle1040/TAM O-301 RIL population.

Diversity panel allele designations. Allele calls were based on high-resolution melting analysis of PCR amplicons generated with 36 EST-SNP markers in a panel of 34 diverse oat genotypes. Supplementary alleles were designated as insertion (In), deletion (Del), or null (no amplification). When SNP sequences were not available, alternate alleles were...

Origin and pedigree links of oat genotypes used in SNP development, validation, and diversity analysis. The first four genotypes were used in cDNA library construction and sequencing and SNP marker discovery. All genotypes in this table, together with the additional genotypes listed in Table 4, were used for SNP genotyping and diversity analysis.

Header report files generated by Roche gsMapper. Powerpoint file displaying header report files generated by Roche gsMapper.

Tissue types. RNA was extracted from etiolated shoots (A) and roots (B), pistillate structures (C), and mature embryos (D) from four different oat varieties. Tissues were grown at standardized conditions, and RNA for each tissue type was extracted at the same stage of development.

Re‐examining historical datasets is a proposed use for association mapping (AM) and is particularly valuable when the data describes time‐consuming and/or expensive to measure traits. A collection of 91 elite two‐row malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) lines entered in the western Canadian Cooperative Two‐Row Barley Trials over a 13‐ yr period were...

CDC Lophy-I' (Reg. No. CV-339, PI 653112; CN 111360; CFIA Reg. No. 6335; Canadian PBR Appl. No. 06-5470) is a two- rowed spring hulless feed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) developed at the Crop Development Centre (CDC), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. CDC Lophy-I was tested as SR03044 in CDC yield trials from 2003 to 2004 before bei...

ABSTRACT Genetic control of avirulence in the net blotch pathogen, Pyrenophora teres, was investigated. To establish an appropriate study system, a collection of 10 net form (P. teres f. teres) and spot form (P. teres f. maculata) isolates were evaluated on a set of eight barley lines to identify two isolates with differential virulence on an indiv...

OAC Rex is an upright indeterminate bush white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivar intended for use in areas with greater than 2800 crop heat units. It has good yield potential in either wide or narrow row production. It is resistant to races 1 and 15 of bean common mosaic virus and is the first common bean cultivar resistant to common bacterial...

Breeding a model plant that encompasses individual traits thought to enhance yield potential, known as ideotype breeding, has traditionally focused on phenotypic selection of plants with desirable morphological traits. Broadening this breeding method to the molecular level through the use of molecular markers would avoid the environmental interacti...

Recovery of superior individuals from a cross based solely on the phenotypic characteristics ofsingle-plant selections is inefficient because some traits, like yield, have low heritabilities, or because it is difficult to create the correct conditions for selection, as with disease resistance. In contrast, molecular markers are highly heritable and...

Few plant-breeding studies have examined methodology for improving common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) yields by selecting in an intercrop situation. We hypothesized that early-generation testing would be as useful in a maize (Zea mays L.)/bean intercrop as in sole crop for identifying superior bean populations for yield. F2 to F5 bulks of six sele...

The chromosome localizations for 159 gene and DNA segments have been refined to one of five intervals in the 7q21–q32 region through hybridization analysis with a panel of somatic cell hybrid lines. Seventy-two of these chromosome 7 markers are also mapped on common or overlapping yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) clones. In addition, the breakpoin...

Crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata Corda f. sp. avenae Eriks., is the most important disease of oat worldwide. Adult plant resistance (APR) is believed to be a durable rust management strategy. The APR crown rust resistance in the oat line MN841801 has been effective for more than 30 years. Genetic control of APR was studied in a population of...