MARKER ASSISTED-SELECTION OF MAJOR TRAITS IN EGYPTIAN BREAD WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) AND WILD WHEAT (AEGILOPS VENTRICOSA TAUSCH)

Twenty simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were used to screening five Egyptian bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and one wild wheat (Aegilops ventricosa Tausch) that differ in many important traits including drought, aluminum tolerance, quality of gluten (Low and high molecular weight), fungal disease resistance (stem, stripe, leaf rust, pre harvest sprouting resistance and Fusarium head blight resistance). DNA was extracted using the CTAB method and 0.8% Agarose gel to evaluated DNA quantity. PCR products were separated in an ABI 3730 DNA analyzer and data were scored using Gene Marker. These microsatellites were previously reported to be associated with these traits. Polymorphic level is high (90%) across all wheat genotypes, especially between wild and domesticated wheat. A total of 110 alleles were detected, 89 alleles were specific for traits (81%). The high level of polymorphism could be attributed to selection of genotypes with diverse characteristics. SSRs markers are powerful research tools that make it possible to determine the genetic makeup of plants also serve as reference points to compare differences in DNA sequence and consequently. The study indicated the presence of specific markers in wheat genotypes using SSR markers opens up a possibility to apply marker-assisted selection (MAS) in developing new Egyptian wheat cultivars. Current research may be a useful reference and initial step for conventional wheat plant breeders in Egypt to decrease the cost and time and to develop molecular markers associated with some different traits. These results indicated that some selected markers were able to screen the Egyptian wheat genotypes for some major traits.