Spanish spelt: a separate gene pool within the spelt germplasm

• Published in: Plant breeding Vol. 123; no. 3; pp. 297 - 299
• Main Authors: Elia, M, Moralejo, M, Rodriguez-Quijano, M, Molina-Cano, J.L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2004; Blackwell
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; alleles; Biological and medical sciences; cultivars; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generalities. Genetics. Plant material; genetic distance; genetic diversity; genetic markers; genetic polymorphism; Genetic resources, diversity; genetic variation; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; germplasm; microsatellite repeats; plant genetic resources; Plant material; polymorphism index content; SSRs; Triticum; Triticum aestivum; Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta; Triticum macha; Triticum spelta; wheat; Spain; Monocotyledones; Germplasm; Gramineae; Microsatellite DNA; Spelt; Angiospermae; Genetic improvement; SSRs; Gene pool; Spermatophyta; Genetic diversity; Triticum spelta
• ISSN: 0179-9541; 1439-0523
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0523.2004.00969.x

The renewed interest in spelt (Triticum spelta L.) for wheat improvement programmes requires the study of the available genetic diversity. The purpose of this study was to assess genetic diversity within a Spanish spelt collection. Sixty-six Spanish spelt accessions, 19 accessions of T. spelta and T. macha from different origins, three bread wheat cultivars (T. aestivum) and one accession of T. dicoccum were screened using simple sequence repeats (SSRs). The diversity observed within the Spanish group was comparable with that observed in the other wheat varieties, despite their broader geographical diversity. Indeed, the highest polymorphic information content value calculated with SSRs for Spanish material (0.90) is similar to that observed for the other wheat varieties (0.98). Principal component analysis explained 46.5% of the cumulative variation and confirmed the Spanish accessions as a separate group. This study showed the Spanish spelt collection to be a variable and unique genetic resource for wheat and spelt breeding programmes.