Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Tunisian Barley Accessions (Hordeum vulgare L.) Using SSR Markers

In barley breeding programs, information about genetic dissimilarity and population structure is very important for genetic diversity conservation and new cultivar development. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation in Tunisian barley accessions (Hordeum vulgare L.) based on simple sequence repeat (SSR). A total of 89 alleles were detected at 26 SSR loci. The allele number per locus ranged from two to five, with an average of 3.4 alleles per locus detected from 32 barley accessions, and the average value of polymorphic information content was 0.45. A cluster analysis based on genetic similarity was performed, and the 32 barley resources were classified into five groups. Principal coordinates (PCoA) explained 12.5% and 9.3% of the total variation, and the PCoA was largely consistent with the results of cluster separation of STRUCTURE software analysis. The analysis of genetic diversity in barley collection will facilitate cultivar development and effective use of genetic resources.