Molecular and Elemental Characterization of Selected Turkish Durum Wheat Varieties

Abstract

Combination of elemental and protein studies along with molecular data using microsatellite markers may lead to the better and realistic determination of relatedness between the varieties and their populations. In this study, the extent of diversity among five Turkish durum wheat cultivars and their populations has been assessed using seven microsatellite markers and the elemental analysis together with the differences in their protein content.In molecular analysis, total 23 alleles have been obtained among all the genotypes with middling of 4.6 per primer. On employing UPGMA Dendrogram, Principle Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and Winboot analyses, both inter and intra varietal polymorphic studies had shown similar clustering with minor differences. As a result of AMOVA performed, the extent of diversity was found to be higher among the genotypes (76%) in comparison to the variability within the genotypes (24%). In elemental analyses, ‘Selcuklu-97’ was found to be the most efficient variety with high content of several elements. Also, strong and positive correlation has been observed between magnesium- phosphorus, magnesium-sulphur and sulphur-sodium, while noteworthy negative correlation has been observed between sodium and zinc. The protein content of the genotypes was found in the range of 15.17-16.90%.The diversity revealed in durum genotypes can be employed in genetic expansion of the crop. These involved varieties may aid to avoid genetic attrition coming up from the landraces. The information provided can be utilized by breeders for appropriate selection of both, genetically and nutritionally efficient durum wheat varieties.