Aegilops tauschii:: Genetic variation in Iran

All the 79 Aegilops tauschii Coss. accessions of Iranian origin from Prof. Kihara's collection were analyzed electrophoretically. Of 23 enzyme-encoding loci studied, 11 were polymorphic. In Iran Ae. tauschii is presented by ssp. tauschii and ssp. strangulata which distinctly differ genetically, morphologically and ecologically. Variation patterns of low polymorphic locus Aco2 and highly polymorphic Ep are similar in both subspecies. In contrast, variation of Acph1, Ak, Est2, Est5, Got1, Got2, Got3 and Lap is a set of diverse patterns which markedly differ between subspecies and natural regions also, implying that natural selection is involved.