Phenotypic and Molecular Assessment for Genetic Diversity of Egyptian Wheat Varieties

Genetic diversity among plant species is important for improving plant traits. Its estimation is very essential to help selection of genetic resources in breeding programmes. Moreover, it is the base for effective and successful crop enhancement and can be assessed by several methods i.e. using morphological trait (resistance to leaf rust) and molecular markers. In this study, the pathogenicity of 53 wheat varieties was assessed by using 15 leaf rust pathotypes under greenhouse condition at seedling stage. In addition, the genetic diversity was analyzed using 10 molecular markers (microsatellite markers) linked to rust resistant genes. The cluster analysis indicated three sub-clusters based on phenotypic and molecular data. In general, low level (r=0.15) of correlation was obtained between the phenotypic and the genotypic data, however, the molecular analysis is probably more efficient for estimating genetic diversity. Molecular analysis is an efficient method because it’s not affected by environment is plentiful and don’t need earlier pedigree information which can improve the efficacy of molecular breeding practices.