Development of Core Set of Wheat (Triticum spp.) Germplasm Conserved in the National Genebank in India

Abstract

Plant genetic resources, the source of genetic diversity provides a broad genetic foundation for plant breeding and genetic research, however, large germplasm resources are difficult to preserve, evaluate and use. Construction of core and mini core collections is an efficient method for managing genetic resources and undertaking intensive surveys of natural variation, including the phenotyping of complex traits and genotyping of DNA polymorphisms allowing more efficient utilization of genetic resources. A mega characterization and evaluation programme of the entire cultivated gene pool of wheat conserved in the National Genebank, India was undertaken. Wheat accessions with limited seed quantity, were multiplied in the off-season nursery at IARI Regional Station, Wellington during rainy season 2011 and the entire set of 22,469 wheat accessions were characterized and evaluated at CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana during winter season 2011-12 for 34 characters including 22 highly heritable qualitative, and 12 quantitative parameters. The core sets were developed using PowerCore Software with stepwise approach and grouping method and validated using Shannon-Diversity Index and summary statistics. Based on Shannon-Diversity index, PowerCore with stepwise approach was found better than PowerCore with grouping. The core set included 2,208 accessions comprising 1,770 T. aestivum, 386 T. durum, and 52 T. dicoccum accessions as a representative of the total diversity recorded in the wheat germplasm. The core set developed will be further validated at different agro-climatic conditions and will be utilized for development of mini core set to enhance the utilization by wheat researchers and development of climate resilient improved varieties.

Bio-fortification potential of global wild annual lentil core collection

“…The accessions showed high variability for different minerals because core set includes accessions from five different wild species belonging to the diverse originswith different genetic backgrounds. Further, core set retains the genetic diversity of the whole population from which it is developed [ 20 ]. The partitioning of mineral elements is affected by grain morphology including grain size, embryo size, and thickness of the tissue layers.…”

Characterization of wheat germplasm conserved in the Indian National Genebank and establishment of a composite core collection

“…The size of the core collection was determined as ∼10% of the entire collection considering the neutral allele theory (Brown, 1989). The total accessions were first stratified into different species, followed by places of origin (indigenous and exotic), and subsequently each group was subjected to PowerCore analysis with stepwise random selection (Dutta et al, 2015). Means of the entire collection and core sets were compared using Newman-Keuls procedure (Keuls, 1952;Newman, 1939) for quantitative traits and the homogeneity of variances of the entire collection and core set was tested with the Levene's test (Levene, 1960).…”

Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Genomic Regions Associated With Ten Agronomical Traits in Wheat Under Late-Sown Conditions

“…Evaluation of these collections may reveal novel genes/alleles conferring abiotic stress tolerance. In this regard, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR), New Delhi, which houses India’s National Genebank, has already initiated evaluation of about 20,000 wheat germplasm lines conserved for various traits to facilitate their utilization in breeding programs ( Dutta et al., 2015 ; Kumar et al., 2016 ).…”