A high-density genetic linkage map of Aegilops tauschii, the D-genome progenitor of bread wheat

 Aegilops tauschii is the diploid D-genome progenitor of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell, 2n=6x=42, AABBDD). A genetic linkage map of the Ae. tauschii genome was constructed, composed of 546 loci. One hundred and thirty two loci (24%) gave distorted segregation ratios. Sixty nine probes (13%) detected multiple copies in the genome. One hundred and twenty three of the 157 markers shared between the Ae. tauschii genetic and T. aestivum physical maps were colinear. The discrepancy in the order of five markers on the Ae. tauschii 3DS genetic map versus the T. aestivum 3D physical map indicated a possible inversion. Further work is needed to verify the discrepancies in the order of markers on the 4D, 5D and 7D Ae. tauschii genetic maps versus the physical and genetic maps of T. aestivum. Using common markers, 164 agronomically important genes were assigned to specific regions on Ae. tauschii linkage, and T. aestivum physical, maps. This information may be useful for map-based cloning and marker-assisted plant breeding. Received: 23 March 1998 / Accepted: 27 October 1998     

Characterisation of high- and low-molecular weight glutenin subunits associated to the D genome of Aegilops tauschii in a collection of synthetic hexaploid wheats

Synthetic hexaploid wheats (2n=6x=42, AABBDD) involving genomes from Triticum turgidum (2n= 4x=28, AABB) and Aegilops tauschii (2n=2x=14, DD) have been produced as a means for introducing desirable characteristics into bread wheat. In the present work we describe the genetic variability present at the Glu-D ^t 1 and Glu-D ^t 3 loci, encoding high- (HMW) and low-molecular-weight (LMW) glutenin subunits respectively, derived from Ae. tauschii, using electrophoretic and chromatographic methods, in a collection of synthetic hexaploid wheats. A wide variation both in mobility and surface hydrophobicity of HMW glutenin subunits was observed between different accessions of Ae. tauschii used in the production of the synthetic hexaploids. A combination of electrophoretic and chromatographic methods improves the identification of HMW glutenin subunits; in fact subunits with identical apparent mobility were revealed to have a different surface hydrophobicity by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. None of the Dx5^t subunits present in Ae. tauschii showed the presence of the extra cysteine residue found in the HMW glutenin subunit Dx5 of Triticum aestivum, as revealed by selective amplification with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The wide variability and the high number of subunits encoded by the Glu-D ^t 3 locus suggests that Ae. tauschii may be a rich source for enhancing the genetic variability of glutenin subunits in bread wheat and improving bread-making properties. Received: 3 March 2001 / Accepted: 23 March 2001     

粗山羊草居群间遗传分化及多样性的SSR分析

选用分布在粗山羊草14条染色体上的32对SSR引物,对来自中国河南、陕西、新疆和中东地区共147份粗山羊草材料进行遗传分化及多样性分析,结果表明在26个多态性位点中,等位基因数平均为4.15,Ne i基因多样性指数(He)平均为0.243,多态性信息含量指数(PIC)平均为0.226;居群间遗传变异差异明显,中东粗山羊草居群具有丰富的遗传变异(He=0.607,PIC=0.551),而来自陕西和河南的粗山羊草资源遗传多样性较低(He=0.055,PIC=0.047)和(He=0.024,PIC=0.021)。AMOVA分子变异分析显示,居群间遗传变异占总变异的52%,达到显著水平;河南粗山羊草和陕西粗山羊草间发生了一定的遗传分化(Fst=0.210),为研究中国粗山羊草资源的起源与分化问题提供了有用的信息与证据。     

节节麦的酯酶同工酶分析

对 30份不同来源的节节麦进行 4个时期的酯酶同工酶分析。结果表明 :不同来源节节麦的酯酶同工酶存在较大差异 ,共分成 1 5种基本类型。我国黄河流域的 1 0份节节麦被划分为 2个基本类型 ,但二者关系极为相近 ;新疆节节麦与之有一定差异 ,但在相似系数≤ 0 .82 0时可视为一类。所有材料在 4个时期之间没有出现一个完全相同的酶带类型 ,说明酯酶同工酶随发育时期而不断变化。     

粗山羊草(Aegilops tauschii)中Pinb基因的克隆和表达分析

puroindoline a(Pina)和puroindoline b(Pinb)是控制小麦籽粒硬度的主效基因。根据已报道的小麦Pinb基因的保守序列,设计合成了一对特异性引物,对粗山羊草Aegilops tauschii(DD)的基因组DNA进行Pinb基因扩增、克隆和序列分析,发现了一个新型Pinb等位基因。该基因长447 bp,编码148个氨基酸残基,具有麦类作物PinB蛋白所特有的WPTKWWK色氨酸结构域和10个半胱氨酸所形成的5个二硫键结构。与软粒小麦cv.Capitole的Pinb-D1a相比较,该基因含有14个氨基酸变异位点,其中包括一个紧邻色氨酸结构域的变异位点(Val66Phe),其核苷酸和氨基酸同源性分别为93.3%和90.5%。RT-PCR和Western Blot证实了Pinb基因在籽粒胚乳中的表达。Southern Blot分析结果表明,粗山羊草中Pinb基因为单拷贝。研究结果表明,粗山羊草中包含着与小麦差异较大的籽粒硬度控制基因,对此基因的进一步研究将加深对小麦籽粒硬度形成分子机制的了解。     

Microsatellite polymorphism in natural populations of wild emmer wheat,Triticum dicoccoides,in Israel

Diversity in 20 microsatellite loci of wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides, was examined in 15 populations (135 genotypes) representing a wide range of ecological conditions of soil, temperature, and water availability, in Israel and Turkey. An extensive amount of diversity at microsatellite loci was observed despite the predominantly selfing nature of this plant species. The 20 Gatersleben wheat microsatellites (GWM), representing 13 chromosomes of genomes A and B of wheat, revealed a total of 364 alleles, with an average of 18 alleles per GWM marker (range: 5–26). The proportion of polymorphic loci per population averaged 0.90 (range: 0.45– 1.00); genic diversity, He, averaged 0.50 (range 0.094– 0.736); and Shannon’s information index averaged 0.84 (range 0.166–1.307). The coefficients of genetic distance between populations were high and averaged D=1.862 (range 0.876–3.320), an indication of sharp genetic divergence over short distances. Interpopulation genetic distances showed no association with geographic distance between the population sites of origin, which ruled out a simple isolation by distance model. Genetic dissimilarity values between genotypes were used to produce a dendrogram of the relationships among wild wheat populations by the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA). The results showed that all the wild emmer wheat populations could be distinguished. Microsatellite analysis was found to be highly effective in distinguishing genotypes of T. dicoccoides, originating from diverse ecogeographical sites in Israel and Turkey, with 88% of the 135 genotypes correctly classified into sites of origin by discriminant analysis. Our present microsatellite results are non-random and in agreement with the previously obtained allozyme and RAPD patterns, although the genetic-diversity values obtained with microsatellites are much higher. Significant correlates of microsatellite markers with various climatic and soil factors suggest that, as in allozymes and RAPDs, natural selection causes adaptive microsatellite ecogeographical differentiation, not only in coding, but most importantly in non-coding genomic regions. Hence, the concept of ”junk DNA” needs to be replaced by at least partly regulatory DNA. The obtained results suggest that microsatellite markers are useful for the estimation of genetic diversity in natural populations of T. dicoccoides and for the tagging of agronomically important traits derived from wild emmer wheat. Received: 27 February 2001 / Accepted: 22 March 2001     

Microsatellite markers for genome analysis in Brassica. I. development in Brassica napus and abundance in Brassicaceae species

One hundred and twenty one microsatellites were identified by screening a λ phage library of Brassica napus. The distribution of these microsatellites within Brassicaceae species was estimated using 81 locus-specific primer pairs. Most of them (83%) amplified fragments either from Brassica oleracea or Brassica campestris, or from both species, whereas less than 30% detected loci in Brassica nigra. The same was true (30–35%) for more-distantly related crucifer species such as Diplotaxis ssp., Brassica tournefortii, Sinapis alba, Raphanus sativus and Eruca sativa. Only 16 microsatellite-specific primer pairs (19.8%) amplified fragments from Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, 61 of the primer pairs detecting 198 polymorphisms were used to estimate the extent of genetic diversity among 32 Brassica napus varieties and breeding lines. On average, four alleles per locus were observed. The spring and winter types of oilseed rape could be clearly distinguished by using the microsatellite markers in a cluster analysis. The results demonstrated the high efficiency of these markers for monitoring genetic diversity. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 3 July 2000     

Microsatellite DNA polymorphism divergence in Triticum dicoccoides accessions highly resistant to yellow rust

 Stripe rust (yellow rust), caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most important diseases of wheat throughout the world. Wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides, the progenitor of cultivated wheat, was found to be a valuable source for novel stripe-rust-resistance genes. The objective of the present study was to estimate the extent of genetic diversity among the wild emmer wheat accessions, previously identified as highly resistant to stripe rust, in order to select suitable parents for genetic-mapping studies. Twenty three wheat microsatellite (WMS) markers were used to detect DNA polymorphism among 21 accessions of T. dicoccoides, which included 19 resistant and two susceptible accessions originating mainly from the center of origin and diversity in the Upper Galilee and Hermon Mountain in northern Israel. In addition, two Triticum durum and one Triticum aestivum lines were also included in the analysis. The 23 WMS markers used were located on 23 chromosome arms, representing all 14 chromosomes of genomes A and B of wheat, and revealed a total of 230 alleles. The number of alleles ranged from 5 to 18, with an average of ten alleles per WMS. Genetic dissimilarity values between genotypes, calculated by the WMSderived data, were used to produce a dendrogram of the relationships among accessions using the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA). The results showed that all of the wild emmer wheat accessions could be distinguished. Most of the resulting groups were strongly related to the ecogeographical origin of the accessions, indicating that the genetic diversity of T. dicoccoides is correlated with geographic distribution. The three major groups were the Rosh Pinna group (north of the Sea of Galilee), the Mount Hermon group (north of the Golan Heights) and Mount Kena’an group (Upper Galilee). The genetic similarity (GS) of the 21 T. dicoccoides accessions based on WMS results averaged 0.31. As expected, the T. durum and T. aestivum lines were grouped separately from the T. dicoccoides accessions. The results obtained suggest that a relatively small number of microsatellites can be used for the estimation of genetic diversity in wild material of T. dicoccoides. These results will be useful in the identification of suitable parents for the development of mapping populations for tagging yellow-rust resistance genes derived from T. dicoccoides. Furthermore, future work could test the adaptive evolutionary significance of microsatellites in natural populations of wild emmer wheat. Received: 8 August 1997 / Accepted: 25 August 1997     

Identification and Mapping of Two New Genes Conferring Resistance to Powdery Mildew from Aegilops tauschii （Coss,） Schmal

Two powdery mildew resistance genes were Identified from Aegilops tauschll accessions Y201 and Y212 and mapped using two different F2 populations derived from the crosses between susceptible accession Y2272 and Y201, and susceptible accession Y2263 and Y212. Genetic analysis of resistance to powdery mildew Indicated that the resistance of Y201 was controlled by a single dominant gene, whereas the resistance of Y212 was controlled by a single recessive gene. We have temporarily designated these genes as PmY201 and PmY212, respectively. By bulk segregation analysis, six mlcrosatelllte markers Including Xgwm174, cfd26, cfd57, cfdl02, Xgwm583 and Xgwm639 were found to be linked to PraY201 with genetic distances of 5.2, 7.7, 9.6, 12.5, 20.2 and 22.1 cM, respectively. Five SSR markers, including cfd57, Xgwm182, cfd7, cfd102, and cfd12, were found to be linked to PmY212 with distances of 5.6, 7.2, 11.5, 14.7, and 18.5 cM, respectively. According to the locations of the linked markers, the two resistance genes were located In the 5DL region. Based on the chromosomal locations and the resistance patterns of the two genes, we propose that PmY201 and PmY212 are two novel powdery mildew resistance genes, and are suitable for marker-assisted selection.     

Description and analysis of genetic diversity between commercial bean lines (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The effectiveness of RFLP, DAMD-PCR, ISSR and RAPD markers in assessing polymorphism and relationships between 24 commercial lines of Phaseolus vulgaris L.was evaluated. We have used a Phaseolus-specific minisatellite sequence as a probe, which enabled 23 of the bean lines tested to be fingerprinted. Based on the sequence information obtained, primers corresponding to the bean-specific minisatellite core sequence were used in subsequent PCR amplifications. Our observations indicated that while the DAMD-PCR was sensitive in detecting genetic variation between bean species and between accessions of P. vulgaris, when used alone it may be limited in its ability to detect genetic variation among cultivated bean lines due to the low number of loci amplified. Only one out of the five ISSR primers tested was efficient in generating multiple band profiles, which was insufficient to distinguish all the different bean lines. Reproducible RAPD profiles were obtained, and these allowed us to differentiate all the genotypes tested with seven primers. We ultimately used only results from RFLP and RAPD markers to explore the genetic diversity among commercial bean lines. Both analyses led to the same clustering of the bean lines according to their geographical origins (United States or Europe). With respect to the European lines, the results obtained from RAPD data also enable the lines to be clustered according to their creators. Received: 15 January 2000 / Accepted: 21 March 2000     

Cytogenetic and molecular mapping of the leaf rust resistance gene Lr39 in wheat

Leaf rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia triticina Eriks,is one of the most serious diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum AABBDD, 2n=6x=42) worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is an efficient and economical method of reducing losses to leaf rust. Here we report a new leaf rust resistance gene, Lr39, transferred from Aegilops tauschii into common wheat. Lr39 conditions both seedling and adult plant resistance to the leaf rust pathogen. The inter- and intra-chromosomal mapping of the Lr39 gene showed that it is different from all previously described Lr genes. We used monosomic analysis for the inter-chromosomal mapping and wheat microsatellite markers for the intra-chromosomal mapping. The monosomic and ditelosomic analysis indicated that Lr39 is independent of the centromere on the short arm of chromosome 2D. Eight microsatellite markers for 2DS were used for linkage analysis on a population of 57 F₂ plants derived from a cross of an Ae. tauschii-derived wheat, cv. Wichita line TA4186 (possessing Lr39), with Wichita monosomics for the D-genome chromosomes. The microsatellite marker analysis confirmed the location of the gene on 2DS. Three markers were polymorphic and linked to the gene. The closest marker Xgwm210 mapped 10.7 cM from Lr39. The location of Lr39 near the telomere of 2DS distinguishes it from the Lr2 and Lr22 loci, which are located on 2DS proximal to Xgwm210. Received: 19 April 2000 / Accepted: 15 May 2000     

High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits in the Cylindropyrum and Vertebrata section of the Aegilops genus and identification of subunits related to those encoded by the Dx alleles of common wheat

The high-molecular-weight (HMW) glute-nin subunit composition of seven species from the Cylindropyrum and Vertebrata sections of the Aegilops genus was studied using SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Two subunits were detected in Ae. caudata and three in Ae. cylindrica. In both species, subunits showing electrophoretic mobility similar to that of 1Dx2 were present. Western blot analysis using a monoclonal antibody (IFRN 1602) specific for the 1Ax and 1Dx subunits of bread wheat showed that the 1Dx-like subunit of Ae. caudata gave only a weak reaction. This indicates that Ae. caudata expresses subunits which are more distantly related to the 1Dx subunits. Two subunits were detected in each of the 60 accessions of Ae. tauschii, including several 1D^tx subunits showing different electrophoretic mobilities from those of the 1Dx subunits commonly found in bread wheat. All of the 1D^tx subunits reacted strongly with IFRN 1602, confirming their close relationship to the 1Dx subunits of bread wheat. Three subunits were found in Ae. crassa (6 x), four in Ae. ventricosa and Ae. juvenalis and five in Ae. vavilovii. In these four species, the subunits that showed electrophoretic mobility similar, or close, to that of 1Dx2 all reacted with IFRN 1602. In addition, Ae. ventricosa contained a subunit showing electrophoretic mobility slower than that of 1Dx2.2, which also reacted with IFRN 1602. These results suggest that the D-genome component in the multiploid Aegilops species express at least one HMW glutenin subunit that is structurally related to the 1Dx subunits of bread wheat. Received: 5 November 1999 / Accepted: 12 February 2000     

Comparative analyses of RFLP diversity in landraces of Triticum aestivum and collections of T. tauschii from China and Southwest Asia

 Chinese accessions of Triticum tauschii and T. aestivum L. from the Sichuan white (SW), Yunnan hulled (YH), Tibetan weedrace (TW), and Xinjiang rice (XR) wheat groups were subjected to RFLP analysis. T. tauschii and landraces of T. aestivum from countries in Southwest Asia were also evaluated. For T. tauschii, a west to east gradient was apparent where the Chinese accessions exhibited less diversity than those from Southwest Asia. Compared to the Southwest Asian gene pool, the Chinese T. tauschii was highly homogeneous giving a low frequency of polymorphic bands (16%) and banding patterns (1.33 per probe) with 75 RFLP probe-HindIII combinations. Accessions of T. tauschii from Afghanistan and Pakistan were genetically more similar to the Chinese T. tauschii than those from Iran. Of 368 bands found for 39 Chinese hexaploid wheat accessions with 63 RFLP probe-HindIII combinations, 28.3% were polymorphic with an average of 2.6 banding patterns per probe and 5.0 bands per genotype. The individual Chinese landrace wheat groups revealed less variation than those from Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey. When classified into country based groups, however, the diversity level over all Chinese landraces was greater than that of some Southwest Asian landraces, especially those from Afghanistan and Iran . The XR wheat group was genetically distinct from the other three Chinese landrace groups and was more related to the Southwest Asian landraces. The TW group was genetically similar to, but more diverse than, the SW and YH groups. The Chinese landraces had a higher degree of genetic relatedness to the Southwest Asian T. tauschii, particularly to accessions from Iran, rather than to the Chinese T. tauschii. ‘Chinese Spring’ was most related to ‘Chengdu-guang-tou’, a cultivar from the SW wheat group. Received: 13 May 1997 / Accepted: 19 September 1997     

粗山羊草CCT基因家族进化及节律表达分析

CCT家族基因广泛参与植物花期的调控过程,粗山羊草(Aegilops tauschii Coss.)作为小麦D基因组供体,给小麦带来新的花期及适应性相关基因。研究粗山羊草CCT家族基因不仅可为小麦进化、驯化和演变规律提供参考,还有助于认识粗山羊草作为杂草的生态适应性。粗山羊草基因组中26个CCT基因进化分析后发现Group A、Group C、GroupH和Group G中的13个Aet CCT成员出现了快速进化;Group A中有42.1%的位点存在正选择效应,表明快速进化提高了粗山羊草的适应性。基因结构分析表明CCT结构域在Aet CCT家族中保守性很高,但不同基因内含子和外显子的排布差异较大,特异Motif可能是不同亚家族基因间功能差异的重要原因。Aet CCT4、Aet CCT7、Aet CCT8、Aet CCT11、Aet CCT12、Aet CCT16、Aet CCT17、Aet CCT19、Aet CCT21和Aet CCT22的表达具有明显的"生物钟效应",呈现出24 h的节律性表达,且基本都处于快速进化的Group A、Group C、GroupH和Group I。研究结果表明,这些成员可能参与花期调控等生长发育过程,在粗山羊草的适应性形成过程中发挥了作用。     

粗山羊草抗条锈病新基因YrY206遗传分析和微卫星 标记

从小麦野生近缘属——粗山羊草中挖掘小麦条锈病抗病基因, 拓展小麦抗病性的遗传基础。利用抗小麦条锈病与感小麦条锈病的粗山羊草间杂交, 从粗山羊草[Aegilops tauschii (Coss.) Schmal] Y206中鉴定出1个显性抗小麦条锈病基因, 暂定名为YrY206。应用分离群体分组法(Bulked segregant analysis, BSA)筛选到Wmc11a、Xgwm71c、Xgwm161和Xgwm183标记, 与该基因之间的遗传距离分别为4.0、3.3、1.5和9.3 cM。根据连锁标记所在小麦微卫星图谱的位置, YrY206被定位在3DS染色体上。分析基因所在染色体的位置、抗病性特征, 认为YrY206是一个新的抗小麦条锈病基因。     

硬粒小麦-节节麦人工合成种HMW-GS组成及1.5+10亚基的遗传分析

对C IMM YT的99份硬粒小麦—节节麦人工合成种(简称合成种)的HMW-G S组成分析发现,G lu-B 1和G lu-D 1位点的变异类型比普通小麦丰富,分别有9种和12种亚基类型;筛选出含有比5 10亚基更优质的1.5 10和5 12亚基的合成种分别有8份和1份;含有优质亚基1.5 10的合成种与普通小麦杂交结实正常;对2个合成种与2个普通小麦品种的8个正反交组合F1种子电泳发现,优质亚基1.5 10在F1代能正常表达,双亲所有亚基在F1代都得到表达,表现共显性遗传.本研究为优质亚基1.5 10和5 12转育到普通小麦中奠定了基础.     

粗山羊草CCT家族基因序列分析及激素响应

开花是植物生长发育的重要过程。CCT家族基因在植物中广泛存在, 参与植物花期的调控过程。该文从粗山羊草(Aegilops tauschii)全基因组中分离出26个CCT基因, 它们分布于7对染色体上, 按照排列顺序将其命名为AetCCT1-26。AetCCT蛋白分子量介于14.9 kDa (AetCCT3)-83.2 kDa (AetCCT12)之间, 其中有25个蛋白包含完整的CCT保守结构域。系统发育分析显示, 12对粗山羊草/乌拉尔图小麦(Triticum urartu) CCT蛋白和9对粗山羊草/水稻(Oryza sativa) CCT蛋白为直系同源蛋白。通过公共数据的数字表达分析表明, AetCCT具有组织特异性和组成型2种表达形式, 其中AetCCT3、AetCCT4、AetCCT7及AetCCT9等9个基因在大部分组织中都有表达, 而AetCCT15、AetCCT21和AetCCT25等基因分别在种子、叶和根等少数组织中特异表达。AetCCT家族可以响应不同外源激素, 施用激素24小时和72小时后各成员对激素响应整体表现一致, 但不同成员对于不同激素的响应存在差异, 表明该家族成员在功能和行使方式等方面具有一定的多样性, 可能参与不同生长发育过程。光照条件影响AetCCT的表达, 说明光照和春化作用是影响与调控该家族基因表达的重要因素。研究结果有助于探索小麦(T. aestivum)进化、驯化和演变的规律, 以及认识重要农艺性状的形成与互作网络。     

The use of microsatellite markers for detection of genetic diversity in barley populations

 A barley lambda-phage library was screened with (GA)n and (GT)n probes for developing microsatellite markers. The number of repeats ranged from 2 to 58 for GA and from 2 to 24 for GT. Fifteen selected microsatellite markers were highly polymorphic for barley. These microsatellite markers were used to estimate the genetic diversity among 163 barley genotypes chosen from the collection of the IPK Genebank, Germany. A total of 130 alleles were detected by 15 barley microsatellite markers. The number of alleles per microsatellite marker varied from 5 to 15. On average 8.6 alleles per locus were observed. Except for GMS004 all other barley microsatellite markers showed on average a high value of gene diversity ranging from 0.64 to 0.88. The mean value of gene diversity in the wild forms and landraces was 0.74, and even among the cultivars the gene diversity ranged from 0.30 to 0.86 with a mean of 0.72. No significant differences in polymorphism were detected by the GA and GT microsatellite markers. The estimated genetic distances revealed by the microsatellite markers were, on average , 0.75 for the wild forms, 0.72 for landraces and 0.70 among cultivars. The microsatellite markers were able to distinguish between different barley genotypes. The high degree of polymorphisms of microsatellite markers allows a rapid and efficient identification of barley genotypes. Received: 26 November 1997 / Accepted: 19 January 1998     

The use of microsatellites for detecting DNA polymorphism, genotype identification and genetic diversity in wheat

A set of 20 wheat microsatellite markers was used with 55 elite wheat genotypes to examine their utility (1) in detecting DNA polymorphism, (2)in the identifying genotypes and (3) in estimating genetic diversity among wheat genotypes. The 55 elite genotypes of wheat used in this study originated in 29 countries representing six continents. A total of 155 alleles were detected at 21 loci using the above microsatellite primer pairs (only 1 primer amplified 2 loci; all other primers amplified 1 locus each). Of the 20 primers amplifying 21 loci, 17 primers and their corresponding 18 loci were assigned to 13 different chromosomes (6 chromosomes of the A genome, 5 chromosomes of the B genome and 2 chromosomes of the D genome). The number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 to 13, with an average of 7.4 alleles per locus. The values of average polymorphic information content (PIC) and the marker index (MI) for these markers were estimated to be 0.71 and 0.70, respectively. The (GT)_n microsatellites were found to be the most polymorphic. The genetic similarity (GS) coefficient for all possible 1485 pairs of genotypes ranged from 0.05 to 0.88 with an average of 0.23. The dendrogram, prepared on the basis of similarity matrix using the UPGMA algorithm, delineated the above genotypes into two major clusters (I and II), each with two subclusters (Ia, Ib and IIa, IIb). One of these subclusters (Ib) consisted of a solitary genotype (E3111) from Portugal, so that it was unique and diverse with respect to all other genotypes belonging to cluster I and placed in subcluster Ia. Using a set of only 12 primer pairs, we were able to distinguish a maximum of 48 of the above 55 wheat genotypes. The results demonstrate the utility of microsatellite markers for detecting polymorphism leading to genotype identification and for estimating genetic diversity. Received: 15 May 1999 / Accepted: 27 July 1999