Genetic Diversity of Iranian Accessions, Improved Lines of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and Their Wild Relatives by Using Simple Sequence Repeats

Biodiversity information in available germplasm is very useful for the success of any breeding program. To establish genetic diversity among 44 genotypes of chickpea comprising cultigen, landraces, internationally developed improved lines and wild relatives, genetic distances were evaluated using 19 simple sequence repeat markers with 100 marker loci. Estimation of the number of alleles per locus (n (a)), the effective allele number (n (e)), and Wright fixation index F were 6.25, 3.67, and 0.44, respectively. Polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.84 (locus NCPGR6 and TA135) to 0.44 (locus NCPGR7) with an average of 0.68. Dice's coefficient similarity matrix for studied chickpea genotypes varied from 0.07 to 1.0 indicating a broader genetic base among genotypes studied. The highest similarity, 1.0, was observed between genotypes Sel 96TH11484 and Sel 96TH11485; while, the lowest, 0.07, was observed between genotypes Sel 95TH1716 and Azad. Based on the UPGMA clustering method, all genotypes were clustered in eight groups, which indicated the probable origin and region similarity of landraces and local Iran landraces over the other cultivars and wild species. It also represents a wide diversity among available germplasm. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that 41% of the total variance was due to differences among groups while 59% was due to differences within groups. The results of principal coordinate analysis approximately corresponded to those obtained through cluster analysis. Genetic variation detected in this study can be useful for selective breeding for specific traits and in enhancing the genetic base of breeding programs.