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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2026)

Assessment of molecular genetic diversity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes for identifying heat-tolerant and heat-susceptible varieties using chromosome specific SSR markers

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.9977
Submitted
11 June 2025
Published
30-09-2026 — Updated on 01-10-2026
Versions

Abstract

Identifying genetically diverse and heat-tolerant wheat germplasm is essential for developing climate-resilient cultivars under rising global temperatures. In this study, 30 wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes were characterised using twenty chromosome-specific simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to assess molecular genetic diversity and population structure. The SSR markers produced 90 alleles with an average of 4.5 alleles per locus, indicating substantial genetic variability. Polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.19–0.86 (mean = 0.71), demonstrating the high informativeness of the markers. Marker efficiency parameters, including resolving power (0.64–4.62), effective multiplex ratio (0.74–24.30) and marker index (0.09–10.42), further confirmed their strong discriminatory capacity. Genetic similarity coefficients ranged from 0.55–0.82, revealing a broad genetic base among the evaluated genotypes. The UPGMA cluster analysis separated the genotypes into two major groups corresponding to heat-tolerant and heat-susceptible lines and clustering reliability was supported by bootstrap analysis with strong node support (> 80 %). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) produced a similar grouping pattern. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that 14.8 % of the total genetic variation occurred among clusters and 85.2 % within clusters (ϕPT = 0.148, p < 0.01). Permutational multivariate analysis of variance PERMANOVA further confirmed significant multivariate differentiation among clusters (F = 5.31, R² = 0.16, p = 0.001). Bayesian population structure analysis identified seven ancestral components (K = 7), indicating complex genetic stratification within the wheat panel. These findings highlight substantial genetic diversity among the studied genotypes and identify valuable parental resources for breeding heat-resilient wheat cultivars.

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