Abstract
BackgroundEvaluation of genetic diversity and relationships among crop wild relatives is an important task in crop improvement. The main objective of the current study was to estimate molecular variability within the set of 91 samples from Triticum aestivum, Aegilops cylindrica, and Aegilops crassa species using 30 CAAT box–derived polymorphism (CBDP) and start codon targeted (SCoT) markers. ResultsFifteen SCoT and Fifteen CBDP primers produced 262 and 298 fragments which all of them were polymorphic, respectively. The number of polymorphic bands (NPB), polymorphic information content (PIC), resolving power (Rp), and marker index (MI) for SCoT primers ranged from 14 to 23, 0.31 to 0.39, 2.55 to 7.49, and 7.56 to 14.46 with an average of 17.47, 0.34, 10.44, and 5.69, respectively, whereas these values for CBDP primers were 15 to 26, 0.28 to 0.36, 3.82 to 6.94, and 4.74 to 7.96 with a mean of 19.87, 0.31, 5.35, and 6.24, respectively. Based on both marker systems, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that the portion of genetic diversity within species was more than among them. In both analyses, the highest values of the number of observed (Na) and effective alleles (Ne), Nei’s gene diversity (He), and Shannon’s information index (I) were estimated for Ae. cylindrica species. ConclusionThe results of cluster analysis and population structure showed that SCoT and CBDP markers grouped all samples based on their genomic constitutions. In conclusion, the used markers are very effective techniques for the evaluation of the genetic diversity in wild relatives of wheat.
Highlights
Evaluation of genetic diversity and relationships among crop wild relatives is an important task in crop improvement
All reactions were carried out as follows: an initial denaturation step at 94 °C for 5 min, followed by 45 cycles of denaturation at 94 °C for 45 s, primer annealing at 56 °C for 45 s, and primer elongation at 72 °C for 90 s; the final extension at 72 °C was held for 10 min
Our results revealed high polymorphism in the investigated Iranian wheat germplasm from different Triticum and Aegilops species
Summary
Evaluation of genetic diversity and relationships among crop wild relatives is an important task in crop improvement. Based on the International Grains Council’s report (2019) [1], the world needs more one billion tons of wheat for the 4 years (~ 2024) It seems that this demand is fulfilled through conventional breeding programs [2]. Investigation of genetic diversity in wheat and its wild relatives has been done through agro-morphological characters, properties, and molecular markers techniques. Molecular markers as the genetic tools provide important information regarding the genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships among different plant species. These molecular tools expose genetic differences or similarities in better information without interference from environmental factors [21]
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