Background: Synthetic hexaploid wheats are artificially reconstituted hexaploid wheats that possess high genetic variation which could be
utilized for the development of new improved wheat varieties. One such group of synthetic wheats is called the Elite-II set of synthetic wheats
that are derived from crossing durum wheat with different
Aegilops tauschii
wheats.
Materials and Methods: In the current study genetic diversity was investigated among 18 Elite-II synthetic hexaploid wheat lines at DNA level.
Two types of molecular markers i.e. RAPD and SSR were used for this purpose.
Results: Both types of markers proved useful in estimating the overall genetic diversity among these lines. Based on RAPD data range of genetic
distances in these lines was from 0 to 100 percent. Seven D- genome specific SSRs were also used to get further estimation of the genetic
diversity contributed by
Aegilops tauschii parent. On the basis of results obtained it is inferred that the
Aegilops tauschi accessions used in the
production of these synthetic lines were genetically different and they contributed to the enhancement of genetic variation in the synthetic lines.
These results could be helpful for future genome mapping programs.
Conclusion: The overall extensive genitive diversity indicates that these lines are good candidates for development of improved wheat varieties
by crossing with cultivated wheat varieties.
