Abstract:
In this study, a core collection of 180
Aegilops
and
Triticum
accessions be
longing to six
diploid (
T. boeoticum
Bioss.,
T. urartu
Gandilyan.,
Ae. speltoides
Tausch.,
Ae. tauschii
Coss.,
Ae. caudata
L. and
Ae. umbellulata
Zhuk.), five tetraploid (
T. durum
,
Ae. neglecta
Req. ex Bertol.,
Ae. cylindrica
Host. and
Ae. crassa
Boiss) an
d one hexaploid (
T. aestivum
L.) species collected from different regions of Iran were evaluated using 20 agro
-
morphological characters. Statistical analysis showed significant differences among
accessions. The Shannon
-
Weaver (
H
ʹ
SW
) and Nei’s (
H
ʹ
N
) genetic
diversity indices disclosed
intermediate to high diversity for most characters in both
Aegilops
and
Triticum
core sets.
In factor analysis, the first five components justified 82.17% of the total of agro
-
morphological variation. Based on measured characte
rs, the 180 accessions were
separated into two major groups by cluster analysis. Furthermore, based on the 2D
-
plot
generated using two discriminant functions, different species were separated into six
groups, so that distribution of species accorded with t
heir genome construction. Overall,
our results revealed considerable levels of genetic diversity among studied Iranian
Aegilops
and
Triticum
accessions, which can open up new avenues for rethinking the
connections between wild relatives to explore valuable
agronomic traits for the
improvement and adaptation of wheat.
Keywords:
Aegilops
,
Multivariate analysis, Phenotypic diversity,
Triticum.
