Morphology, Biochemical and Genomic Diversity of Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Varieties in Ethiopia: A Prospective Study

Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important food cereals grown in many areas worldwide. World population is to increase by 2.6 billion in 2050. Ethiopia is one of the world’s nine countries needed to increase food production. Since few studies on genetic diversity & in adequate evaluation of bread wheat varieties; my objective the project is to study genetic diversity of bread wheat varieties using morphological, SSRs, good baking quality, grain quality performance across environments, and compare and contrast all the mentioned characters. 121 bread wheat varieties, arranged in 11x11 simple lattice design, will be studied at 3 agro ecological regions of Ethiopia for 2013/14 using 25 morphological/phenotypic parameters as a preliminary genetic diversity study from the field; 10 baking and milling quality parameters of the varieties, seed storage protein using SDS electrophoresis banding patterns, and DNA finger printing microsatellite markers of each varieties in laboratory. Hence, the extent and nature of genetic diversity, grain quality, environmental effects on seed storage proteins, genetic variation using SSRs markers, and potential varieties for further breeding and improvement of nutritional and baking quality suggested. Genetic diversity, plant breeders rely on during selection in cultivar development, is one of the key factors for the improvement of many crop plants including wheat. This research is of great interest and is in line with the current Global Wheat Program, will contribute to the increasing of food security, improve productivity and profitability of wheat farming and sustain natural resources in the developing world.