Unravelling the genetic variability and population structure of buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.): a collection of north western Himalayas

Buckwheat is a pseudocereal that belongs to family Polygonaceae. It is cultivated as a traditional crop in Asia, central Europe and eastern Europe and is used as food as well as medicine. It possesses high quality protein that lacks gluten and is rich in many nutraceuticals and antioxidants; due to which it is presently in great demand. In the present investigation, we collected the buckwheat germplasm from various regions of north western Himalayas of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The material was purified and then used for molecular variability studies. We used 15 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSRs) to study polymorphism among 52 genotypes of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and further, evaluated these SSRs for transferability in other buckwheat species. Among 15 SSRs isolated from common buckwheat; only seven SSRs could amplify the other buckwheat species. These SSRs were then used to study the genetic variability among 110 genotypes of buckwheat based on the allele frequency. These SSRs amplified a total number of 136 alleles, with 30 alleles amplified by Fem-1322. The major allele frequency ranged from 0.11 to 0.42 and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.04 to 0.46. Fem-1322 represents highest Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) of 0.93; followed by Fem-1303 and Fem-1407 with PIC 0.89. The gene diversity ranged from 0.72 to 0.93. Further Darwin based cluster analysis revealed the formation of two major groups by the 110 genotypes. Furthermore, model based STRUCTURE analysis generated two subpopulations which correspond to distance based groups. High level of genetic diversity was observed within the population. The results obtained provided insights about transferability of SSR markers among different species and these findings have further implications in buckwheat breeding as well as conservation strategies.

Automated summary

Buckwheat, a pseudocereal, is cultivated in Asia, central Europe, and eastern Europe for its high-quality protein and antioxidants. Through studying SSR polymorphism, genetic variability among 110 buckwheat genotypes was analyzed, revealing a high level of genetic diversity within the population.