A Study of Genetic Diversity in Sardari Wheat Ecotypes Using AFLP Markers and Agronomic Traits

Studying genetic diversity is important because a decrease in genetic variability might result in a reduction of the plasticity of the crops to respond to changes in climate, pathogen populations, or agricultural practices. In this study, 72 Sardari wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) ecotypes were analyzed by AFLP markers and 17 phenotypic characters. Three pairs of EcoRI/MseI primer combinations produced 1582 polymorphic bands (with mean percentage of polymorphic 73.92%). Cluster analysis using Jaccard coefficient and the entire AFLP data divided all ecotypes into eight major groups. Mean, coefficient of variation, phenotypic, genotypic and environment variance were calculated in each quantitative character. Cluster analysis using Euclidian distance through the quantitative characters divided all ecotypes into six major groups. Comparison of genetic distances obtained from AFLP and agronomic data showed low correlation between the two diversity measurements (0.02). The results showed a high degree of genetic diversity between the Sardari ecotypes, suggesting that Sardari is not a single cultivar, but it is the mass of ecotypes and could be introduced in the gene bank.