Efficiency of different PCR-based marker systems in assessing genetic diversity among winter rye (Secale cereale L.) inbred lines

Summary The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of ISSR, SSR, and SAMPL marker systems in detecting genetic polymorphism among 30 winter rye inbred lines and to compare the results of cluster analysis performed on data from these marker systems using different statistical methods and coefficients. Each marker system was able to discriminate among the materials analyzed with the lowest value of average genetic similarity (GS) obtained with ISSR markers (0.2888) and the highest with SAMPLs (0.5381). EST-derived SSRs turned out to be less efficient in detecting genetic diversity than those from genomic libraries (average GS values 0.3814 and 0.3221, respectively). The average GS value for combined SSR data was 0.3569. The lack of correlations between similarity and cophenetic matrices obtained with various methods systems suggests that different marker systems should be used simultaneously for a genetic diversity study to exploit as many sources of polymorphisms as possible.     

Estimating Genetic Diversity in Durum and Bread Wheat Cultivars from Turkey using AFLP and SAMPL Markers

Since 1925, more than 100 wheat varieties were developed and released in Turkey, and many more were introduced from abroad, but no systematic analysis of their genetic diversity has been performed yet. In this research, a total of 34 domestic and foreign cultivars (12 durum and 22 bread wheats), released in Turkey between 1936 and 2000, were fingerprinted by means of five amplified fragment length polymorphism and three selective amplification of microsatellite polymorphic loci (SAMPL) primer combinations, to evaluate their genetic variation and to determine the existence of cultivar-specific bands. Among the 344 amplicons scored, 214 were polymorphic. The primer combination E_ACG/M_AGG yielded the highest number and the primer combination SAMPL–6/M _AGA produced the lowest number of polymorphic bands. Most cultivars were molecularly very similar, although a few distinct ones (the durum wheat 'Kunduru–1149' and the bread wheat 'İkizce–96') were also identified. Seven cultivar-specific markers for different bread wheat cultivars ('Golia', 'Seri–82', 'Adana–99', 'Pandas' and 'Sertak–52') and six cultivar-specific markers for durum wheat cv 'Kunduru' were observed. Our results show that genetic diversity among old and present–day wheat cultivar commonly grown in Turkey is limited.     

Genetic Variation and Population Structure in a Eurasian Collection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Isatis tinctoria</Emphasis> L.

Isatis tinctoria L. is a biennial species which was cultivated in Europe until the 18th century to produce indigo, a pigment used for dyestuffs. Today there is renewed interest in this ancient crop because of a market demand for natural dyes. Cultivation of the species appears to be particularly suitable for marginal areas. Information about the evolutionary and genetic patterns of I. tinctoria is needed if varieties or to be developed in future breeding programs. The aim of this study was to assess the genetic variation and similarity levels among and within natural populations of I. tinctoria from Europe and central Asia. Fifteen populations were used to carry out the genetic analyses with AFLP and SAMPL molecular markers. Data collected were analysed by the UPGMA method and were used to perform AMOVA. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the crop originated in an eastern centre of origin and moved westward giving rise to a gene pool that is quite different from the original. The wide within-population variation revealed by this study suggests that effective breeding work to develop varieties suitable for marginal environments can be carried out easily.     

Adaptability and variation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Isatis tinctoria</Emphasis> L.: a new crop for Europe

Isatis tinctoria L. was cultivated until the 19th century to produce indigo, a natural blue pigment used principally for dyestuffs. The current search for alternative crops and interest in natural products has led to reconsidering I. tinctoria as a crop to be grown in marginal areas to produce natural indigo. To reintroduce I. tinctoria into cultivation, its behaviour under different climatic conditions as well as its morpho-physiological and genetic diversity must be assessed in order to evaluate the possibilities of future breeding work. To do this, a Eurasian collection of 15 accessions was studied in a 2-year experiment. The study was carried out in four locations in order to assess plant performance at altitudes ranging from 380 to 1,700 m a.s.l. A second experiment evaluated the morpho-physiological diversity of several traits (some related to agronomic performances) of the collection. In a third experiment the genetic traits of the collection were characterised by using eight AFLP and eight SAMPL markers. The species showed a wide adaptability to different mountainous conditions and the populations showed high morphologic and genetic variability and differed according to their origins. Both morpho-physiological and molecular characterisation allowed the accessions to be distinguished into groups of European and Asian origin. Future breeding work is recommended because some accessions have good agronomic potential.