Genetic variation of Saudi Wheat Genotypes through ISSR and SCoT Assays ‎

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Agriculture is responsible for food security against the massive increase in the global population, where wheat stands as a prime source of calories and protein in human nutrition. A well-designed selection breeding program for grain yield depends on the retrieved information of the genetic diversity and agronomic traits association. In this study, thirteen Saudi local wheat genotypes have been collected from Al-Qassim Region in Saudi Arabia. About 34 different morpho-agronomic traits were measured. The correlation analysis between different wheat agronomic traits was observed to study the trait-trait network. Also, 21 SCoT and ISSR primers have been used for fingerprinting of selected wheat genotypes. The marker-trait association analysis was used to detect trait-linked PCR markers. In this research, we noticed a strong negative correlation with grain shape and spike color (SC) while, plant length (PH) had a strong positive correlation with day to heading. Both ISSR and SCoT assays were also adopted and eighty-five PCR markers were significantly linked with 32 local Saudi wheat traits. The SCoT assay was produced 44 markers, while ISSR produced 41 markers respectively. The GW had the highest number of linked markers (17) followed by GR and FLA. Concerning, marker-trait association analysis, the p-value (-log10) of significance associated markers ranged from 1.32 to 4.13. This study could provide fundamental information for local breeding programs of agronomically important traits in Saudi kinds of wheat