Genetic Diversity, Relationship Determination, and Genetic Fingerprinting of Some Local Wheat Cultivars Cultivated in Salah al-Din Governorate Using RAPD-PCR Markers

• Rana Tareq Abdullah &Rafea Zaidan Al-sugmiany

  Author

The study aimed to assess the level of genetic diversity, determine relationships, and establish genetic fingerprints for eleven local bread wheat cultivars cultivated in Salah al-Din Governorate using 21 RAPD-PCR primers. Molecular bands were recorded as a binary matrix, where the presence of a band was coded as 1 and its absence as 0. Genetic distances were calculated according, and a dendrogram was constructed using the UPGMA method. The primers generated 169 loci, of which 124 were polymorphic and 45 were monomorphic, with a total polymorphism percentage of 73.37%. The total number of bands was 1300, comprising 805 polymorphic bands, 495 monomorphic bands, in addition to 13 unique bands and 32 absent bands. Unique bands helped distinguish six cultivars, with the cultivar 'Dhahab' recording five unique bands, followed by 'Mawaddah' with four bands. Genetic distance values ranged between 0.019 and 0.424; the highest similarity was observed between 'Fayyad' and 'Ibaa 99', while the greatest divergence was recorded between 'Mawaddah' and 'Sulaymaniyah'. Cluster analysis divided the cultivars into two main groups; the first group exclusively contained 'Mawaddah', while the second included the remaining cultivars. The results confirm the efficiency of RAPD-PCR markers in detecting molecular variation, distinguishing local cultivars, and providing useful information for genetic resource conservation and wheat breeding programs.

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