Microsatellite based investigation of genetic diversity in 24 synthetic wheat cultivars

Abstract

Common bread wheat has very low genetic diversity. Plant breeders find it difficult to get appropriate germplasm which can be used for bread wheat improvement. Wild plant species is one of the potential sources for conferring resistant genes which can be exploited for bread wheat improvement. The challenge is to utilize these wild relatives into existing food crops without losing the genetic diversity. This study aimed to monitor genetic variability in the synthetic hexaploid wheats using microsatellites molecular markers. The polymorphism revealed by microsatellites was not very prevalent; however more Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) need to be used to select diverse synthetic lines which can be crossed with common bread wheat to enhance the crop yield and resistance against various stresses.

Keywords: Microsatellite, germplasms, hexaploids, polymerase chain reaction, wheat