Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Wild barley (Horedeum spontaneum) Populations by Using SSR Marker

In order to investigate genetic variation of Hordeum spontaneum C. Koch populations in Iran, an experiment was conducted at the research section of the Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, University of Tehran from 2013 to 2014. In this study, 40 ecotypes of H. spontaneum collected from all parts of Iran were investigated by means of 11 SSR markers. Results revealed that the number of polymorphic bands for each primer varied from 2 to 14, on average, 7 and 5.6 polymorphic bands for all primers. Total variances observed were related to diversity among and within the populations which were 48% and 52% respectively. This means a high differentiation among the populations. The biotypes of wild barely (40) were divided into 5 groups including: A: Fars populations, B: populations of Yazd, Chaharmahal va bakhtiari, Lorestan, Ilam and Hamedan populations, C: Qazvin, Alborz, Khomein, Qom and Khorasan populations, D: Kurdistan, West Azarbaijan, Lorestan, Ardebil and Qazvin populations. E: Hamedan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah populations. The placement of closed area populations in one group may be due to penetrations into each other, through farm machinery or cultivated crop seeds. The hypothesis of seed transport from Fars province to far areas such as Karaj and Varamin is rejected. Knowledge of the genetic diversity of this weed, can lead to development of management plans in order to effectively control this weed especially in wheat fields.