Identification of a threshold level to assess essential derivation in durum wheat

Essentially derived varieties (EDV) are considered to be those that are obtained from an original variety by means of methods that do not substantially modify its genetic structure, and whose characteristics are therefore derived from the original. The identification of EDV requires the definition of a threshold value of genetic similarity between the new and the original variety that if exceeded would suggest derivation. Although protocols for estimating genetic similarities based on molecular markers have been proposed for EDV identification in some species, no information was available for durum wheat (Triticum durum). A set of 60 genotypes (F8 or F9 lines and their parents) representing different levels of relatedness were profiled using 14 (later reduced to 13 by excluding the most deviant one) amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer combinations and 109 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci evenly distributed in the genome. For both marker types, an EDV threshold was calculated according to the ‘‘tail principle’’ on the distributions of Jaccard similarities among the subset of 39 independent genotypes. For all pairs of closely related lines branched in advanced generations (F7–F8), or for all but one pairs of lines deriving from the same F4 family, similarities exceeded the thresholds for both marker types, indicating a very good agreement in showing cases of suspected derivation. Compared to SSR markers, AFLP markers appear more suitable for assessing essential derivation because of their superior cost-efficiency. Based on 13 AFLP primer combinations, a threshold of 0.96 Jaccard similarity is proposed, below which a variety should be considered to be independently derived.