Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Tunisian Barley Accessions (Hordeum vulgare L.) Using SSR Markers

Mohamed Kharrat,Mongi Ben Younes,Salem Marzougui

doi:10.5586/aa.7343

Abstract

In barley breeding programs, information about genetic dissimilarity and population structure is very important for genetic diversity conservation and new cultivar development. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation in Tunisian barley accessions (Hordeum vulgare L.) based on simple sequence repeat (SSR). A total of 89 alleles were detected at 26 SSR loci. The allele number per locus ranged from two to five, with an average of 3.4 alleles per locus detected from 32 barley accessions, and the average value of polymorphic information content was 0.45. A cluster analysis based on genetic similarity was performed, and the 32 barley resources were classified into five groups. Principal coordinates (PCoA) explained 12.5% and 9.3% of the total variation, and the PCoA was largely consistent with the results of cluster separation of STRUCTURE software analysis. The analysis of genetic diversity in barley collection will facilitate cultivar development and effective use of genetic resources.

Highlights

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), one of the first and earliest crops domesticated by humans, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally
We used 32 Tunisian barley lines, including four cultivars developed by the Tunisian breeding program
Identification of barley cultivars, lines, and accessions of Tunisian genetic resources have been based on phenotypic traits and agromorphological data

Summary

Introduction

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), one of the first and earliest crops domesticated by humans, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It is one of the oldest crops in the world and ranks fourth after wheat, rice, and maize (Poets et al, 2015). In less developed Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, barley plays a key role as its grain and straws are the principal feed for livestock. Small ruminants such as sheep and goats are the main livestock in Tunisia, representing a valuable dietary contribution in rural areas and a principal economic output (Medimagh et al, 2012). Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), simple sequence repeats (SSR), and single nucleotide polymorphism

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