A RAPID IDENTIFICATION TOOL FOR ITALIAN LANDRACES AND OLD VARIETIES OF TRITICUM

Genetic diversity is one of the key factors for the future of agriculture and food security, making continuous crop improvements possible. Also in this perspective, EU legislation promotes landrace conservation through the use of ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ (PDO) labels on derived products and by allowing the production and exchange of landrace seed in their area of origin, derogating from the requirements for variety registration. The availability of molecular marker systems efficient in assessing genetic diversity is relevant for the safeguar of ‘varieties adapted to the local and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion’, supporting their maintenance and exploitation over the long term. In this work, 17 accessions of Triticum turgidum, belonging to both durum and turanicum subspecies, and 14 of T. aestivum, including landraces and old cultivars, were analyzed with two multiplex SSR sets made up in total of 12 markers. The two marker sets had been previously used to characterize two larger panels including the most prominent durum and bread wheat varieties presently commercialized in Italy. Heterogeneity was observed in most of the landraces, with several non-fixed loci (up to 5 alleles per locus were scored), whereas accessions of T. turanicum as well as old improved varieties of T. aestivum turned out basically uniform. In total, 70 alleles were detected in T. turgidum and 87 in T. aestivum accessions; of them 31 and 22 had not been previously encountered in current varieties of the two respective species, indicating a considerable loss of variability over time, particularly for the former. The greater allelic richness found in T. aestivum compared to T. turgidum was also reflected by the higher mean level of informativeness (PIC values of 0.72 and 0.56, respectively). Interestingly, the two SSR sets allowed the distinction of all T. aestivum accessions, except two old varieties, whereas in T. turgidum four were those undistinguishable. In conclusion, the two marker sets appear suitable for a rapid assessment of wheat germplasm collections, and could be useful for the management of specialty products, ensuring traceability over the whole production chain thus increasing their value.