High levels of segregation distortion in the molecular linkage map of bread wheat representing the West Asia and North Africa region

Abstract

The Fertile Crescent is a primary center of wheat domestication and diversity. Despite its importance for bread wheat breeding, few efforts have been made to fully understand the genetic structure of the Anatolian bread wheat. A lack of information regarding the genetic structure of the bread wheat from this region is evident. Therefore, this study aimed to provide new insights into the genetic structure of bread wheat from Anatolia. A genetic linkage map was constructed based on recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between the Turkish cultivar Gerek-79 and the Moroccan cultivar Arrehane, by using DArT markers anchored with simple sequence repeat markers. This map consisted of 54 linkage groups belonging to 21 bread wheat chromosomes, spanning a total of 935.629 cM. The total number of mapped markers varied from 5 to 87, depending on the chromosome. Seventy-seven DArT markers with unpublished chromosomal locations were mapped on different chromosomes, whereas 23 were mapped onto chromosomes that deviated from those detailed in the literature. This linkage map represents a key starting point towards our understanding of the genome structure of Anatolian bread wheat, which would, in turn, permit us to genetically dissect important agromorphological and quality characteristics. This linkage map will be useful for the identification of QTL for biotic and abiotic stresses, and for important agronomic traits that are valuable for Anatolian wheat.