Genetic variation among wild and cultivated Agropyron desertorum populations based on total protein profiles and phenotypic traits

Genetic differentiation between co-occurring crops and their wild relatives will be greatly modified by crop-to-weed gene flow and variation between human and natural selective pressures. In this paper, the pattern of population differentiation within and among the wild and cultivated populations of Agropyron desertorum in Iran, with respect to both total protein profiles and phenotypic traits, is measured and compared. A total of 180 A. desertorum individuals from 14 wild and four cultivated populations were included in the study. The levels of genetic diversity in cultivated populations were similar to those in wild populations (mean percentage of polymorphic loci [PPL] = 53.26% versus PPL=51.66%, and mean expected heterozygosity [He] = 0.154 versus He=0.165). Neighbour-joining cluster analysis showed that wild populations and cultivated populations were not separated into two groups. The coefficient of genetic differentiation (Fst) between a cultivar and its wild progenitor was 0.060. For the 14 wild populations, a significant genetic differentiation among populations was found using AMOVA analysis (30% of total genetic variation resided among populations).