Hordein polymorphism and variation of agromorphological traits in a collection of naked barley

Genetic diversity among 49 naked barley accessions originating from three different breeding centers (International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Aleppo, Syria, Genetic Institute of Sofia, Bulgaria and Timiriazev Agricultural Academy of Moscow, Russia) was investigated using hordein polymorphism and agromorphological variation. The hordein electrophoresis revealed significant polymorphism: four different patterns (L, N, H1, H2) were distinguished for the D-, twelve for the C- and thirteen for the B-hordein groups. Among the 49 accessions, 30 distinct patterns were identified. A genetic distance matrix based on Jaccard coefficient was elaborated and converted to a dendrogram using UPGMA analysis. Four main clusters, and some distant accessions were identified. The widest range of genetic variability was found in ICARDA germplasm. A Principal Component Analysis based on agromorphological traits divided the whole collection in the three groups corresponding to the three different origins. The analysis of hordein polymorphism permitted the description of genetic relatedness within the naked barley collection while the evaluation of agromorphological traits permitted the identification of accessions with promising agronomical characteristics. The value of both approaches for the study of genetic resources and their subsequent use in breeding is discussed.