Genetic variation of barley genotypes using morphological traits, amylose content, and molecular markers

For any plant breeding endeavor to be effective, a variety of genetic resources must be available and accessible. Using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers, amylose content, and agro-morphological characterization, the genetic diversity of 50 barley genotypes was evaluated. Across 50 genotypes, analysis of variance revealed highly significant variation (p < 0.01) in each trait. The genotypes G20, G7, G18, G28, G41, G45, G50, G13, G39, and G47 displayed the highest yields. Positive correlations were found between the number of tillers per plant, plant height, spike length, number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, and grain yield. Cluster analysis sorted genotypes into five different groups. Cluster I had a minimum of four genotypes, and a maximum of forty-four genotypes were found in cluster V. Ninety-nine percent of the overall diversity among genotypes was accounted for by the first five main principal components (PCs). The contents of amylose and amylopectin were 13-29% and 71-87%, respectively. The genotypes G4, G5, G8, G12, G19, G34, G6, G37, and G41 exhibited the greatest amylose content. These genotypes might be chosen to increase quality and achieve the desired levels of amylose and amylopectin. Significant genetic variety was revealed among 50 barley genotypes by molecular analysis using 20 SSR markers. They had an average of 2.95 alleles per locus, ranging from 2 to 4 alleles. With an average of 0.52 per locus, the polymorphism information content (PIC) value varied from 0.31 to 0.67. A similarity matrix was created using the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean methodology, which divided the tested genotypes into five major groups for the determination of the genetic relatedness of barley genotypes. The SSR-based analysis clustered the genotypes into four different groups. The different grouping based on agro-morphological and SSR markers suggests a relationship between allelic profiling and expression profiling, or between genomic DNA and agro-morphological traits. It could be very helpful for future barley research. Barley genotype identification may benefit from the identified DNA markers. Similar to this, the high level of genetic diversity observed in the genotypes may be helpful in developing strategies for the management and conservation of barley germplasm as well as in the future for choosing parents from a variety of backgrounds for use in breeding programs.