Genetic diversity and geographical differentiation of Iranian landrace, cultivars, and exotic chickpea lines as revealed by morphological and microsatellite markers

Assessment of the extent of genetic variability within chickpea is fundamental for chickpea breeding and conservation of genetic resources and is particularly useful as a general guide in the choice of parents for breeding hybrids. To establish genetic diversity among 60 accessions of chickpea comprising landraces, internationally developed improved lines, and cultivars, genetic distances were evaluated using 14 simple sequence repeat markers. These markers showed a high level of polymorphism; a total of 59 different alleles were detected, with a mean of 4.2 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.31 to 0.89. All the markers, with the exception of TAA170, TA110, GA34, and Ts35, were considered to be informative (PIC > 0.5), indicating their potential usefulness for cultivar identification. Based on the UNJ clustering method, all accessions were clustered in five groups, which indicated the probable origin and region similarity of Iranian landraces over the other cultivars. It also represents a wide diversity among available germplasm. The result has firmly established that introduction of genetic materials from exotic sources has broadened the genetic base of the national chickpea breeding program. As further implications of the findings, this study can be useful for selective breeding for specific traits and in enhancing the genetic base of breeding programs.