Gliadin polymorphism in Turkish cultivated emmer wheat [Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccon (Schrank) Thell.] landraces

Gliadin polymorphism in 19 landrace populations of Turkish cultivated emmer wheat [Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccon (Schrank) Thell.] was assessed using the aluminum lactic acid-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE) technique. Being a source of useful genes, landraces of wheat represent one of the most important genetic resources available to breeders for present and future genetic improvement of wheat. This is the first genetic characterization of these 19 Turkish emmer wheat landrace populations collected from their main cultivation areas. Considerably high amounts of variation were detected within and among the populations. A total of 27 alleles (n a) were identified among all analyzed populations, 10 of them being unique to populations C, D, H, K, L, M, and N. The highest allele number (n a = 7) was observed in populations A and L, whereas the lowest number of alleles (n a = 3) was observed in populations F, G, and U. The mean number of effective alleles (n ae) was 12.33, and the mean values of gene diversity, genetic differentiation, and gene flow between populations were H e = 0.92, F ST = 0.296, and N m = 0.60, respectively. Certain gliadins closely linked to dough quality, such as γ-45 and ω-35, were found in 13 and 18 of the populations, respectively. According to Pearson’s correlation coefficient values, gene diversity estimates had strong positive correlation (r P = 0.510; p = 0.026 at <0.05%) with latitude. The rest of the genetic data (n a and n ae) obtained in the present study showed no correlation with geographic (altitude, latitude, and longitude) or climatic factors (temperature and annual rainfall). Principal component analysis was performed to explain spatial genetic variation, revealing 90.044% of total genetic variation in three components. Results obtained from this study can effectively be used in developing more efficient breeding programs to improve wheat genotypes, and to direct genetic resource conservation studies.