SSR-Based Genetic Diversity Assessment Among Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cultivars

Genetic diversity of the eighteen wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars were evaluated using 21 SSR markers. A total of 273 alleles were detected and the mean of alleles in each genome was 7.3 (A genome), 8.6 (B genome) and 9.3 (D genome). The polymorphism information content (PIC) value were ranged from 0.630 (Xgdm132) to 0.928 (Xgwm190 and Xgwm538) with an average of 0.848. The Pair-wise genetic similarity matrix was calculated based on all possible pairs of wheat cultivars, which varied from 0.56 (VL 914 vs Mons ald's) to 0.97 (Halna vs Iepaca rabe and Kauz/AA/Kauz vs Halna). In UPGMA based cluster analysis using Dice coefficients, 18 cultivars were grouped into 4 major groups and clearly reflected the presence of very high degree of genetic diversity. Therefore, the molecular assessment of the genetic diversity between cultivars should be a good critrion for selecting these cultivars in future breeding programs.