Genetic variation, species diversity, ploidy distribution, and origins of Australian Cynodon

Abstract Cynodon grasses are among the most widely used turf and forage species in tropical and warm temperate global climates. Species diversity of Cynodon in Australia is third after Africa and Asia. Despite this, a broad-scale collection of Cynodon spp. from diverse Australian climates has only recently been conducted for breeding and improvement purposes. The main aims of this study were to characterise this collection in order to facilitate its optimal use in Cynodon breeding and improvement and to infer the extent of species, ploidy-level, and genetic variability of Australian Cynodon species. The ploidy levels of 1,070 Australian Cynodon accessions were determined using flow cytometry. Several diploid C. dactylon accessions, which have not previously been reported in Australia, were identified among the Australian collection. The majority of the accessions in the collection were tetraploid (61%), followed by triploid (14%), diploid (11%), pentaploid