Genetic characterization of Turkish bread wheat landraces based on microsatellite markers and morphological characters

Authors: ÖZLEM ATEŞ SÖNMEZOĞLU, BETÜL BOZMAZ, AHMET YILDIRIM, NEJDET KANDEMİR, NEVZAT AYDIN

Abstract: Wheat landraces could be unique sources of favorable genes for agronomic traits like yield and insect, pest, and disease resistances, as well as quality characteristics that are important for breeding programs. Molecular marker systems offer great opportunities to characterize wheat accessions, which in particular are not morphologically identifiable. In this study, 20 bread wheat landraces collected from different regions of Turkey were characterized by using microsatellite markers (SSRs) and morphological characters. Seventeen morphological characters were used. Fifteen SSR primers were prescreened and the 7 most polymorphic primers were employed in characterization. The most polymorphic SSR loci were Xgwm 95 and 295 with 11 alleles, followed by Xgwm 261 and 325 with 9 alleles. The total number of alleles was 63, with an average number of 9 alleles. The dendrogram showed that the bread wheat landraces can be divided into 2 major groups. Based on matrix values, the closest genotypes of landraces were TR 63445 and TR 63886 for molecular data, and TR 37179 and TR 46797 for morphological data. On the other hand, the most genetically different genotypes were TR 37179 and TR 3608 in the SSR analysis, and TR 14851 and TR 3608 in the morphological characterization. These results showed that SSR markers and morphological characters could be successfully used in genetic characterization and genetic diversity in bread wheat landraces that may be useful for wheat breeding programs as genetic resources.

Keywords: Bread wheat, genetic diversity, landraces, microsatellite markers, morphological characters, Triticum aestivum

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