Introduction Walnut (Juglans regia L., 2n = 32, ~ 606 Mb per 1 C genome) is a monoecious, dichogamous, wind-pollinated, long-lived, perennial tree species belonging to the family Juglandaceae (Zhu et al., 2015). After cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) and almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb], walnut is the third most widely planted nut tree worldwide with a global annual production (with shell) of around 2.2 × 10 6 metric tons 1. Turkey is the fourth largest walnut-producing country in the world after China, USA, and Iran 1. The kernel of walnut has a high economic impact on the food industry and is very popular and valued around the world due to its health-related, sensorial, and nutritional properties (Martinez et al., 2010). Many researchers have demonstrated the beneficial health effects of human diet supplemented by walnut due to its high protein, oil vitamin and mineral content (Dzhafarova et al., 2009; Martinez et al., 2010). Recent research also suggests that in addition to nuts, the extracts of walnut leaves have a positive impact on lipid metabolism and decrease blood sugar levels in human beings (Dzhafarova et al., 2009). On the other hand, leaves, shells, green walnuts, kernels, and bark of walnut tree have been used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Fresh leaves of walnut are utilized for the treatment of skin inflammations, ulcers, and hyperhidrosis in the pharmaceutical industry and for their antiseptic, anthelmintic, astringent, and antidiarrheal properties in folk medicine, and dry walnut leaves are used as infusions. Additionally, green husk of walnut is the basic material for the conventional liqueur of walnut, and shells are used as a filtration medium for the separation of crude oil from water. As a result of these great health benefits and commercial importance of walnut, detection of its genetic diversity and relationships among accessions has become significant topics in studies on germplasm conservation and plant breeding (Pereira et al., 2007). In Turkey, nongrafted walnut seedlings had been used in new walnut plantations until the beginning of 1970s and commercial walnut orchards were established with

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In the current study, 160 pathogenic strains of Fusarium oxysporum collected from tomato, eggplant and pepper were studied. Eighteen inter‐primer binding site (iPBS)‐retrotransposon primers were used, and these primers generated 205 scorable polymorphic bands. The number of polymorphic bands per primer varied between 9 and 19, with a mean of 11 bands per primer. The highest polymorphism information content (PIC) value was determined as 0.27, and the lowest was 0.05. The unweighted pair‐group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) dendrogram including a heat map revealed that the 160 pathogenic strains of F. oxysporum were divided into two main clusters. The first cluster mainly included F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici (FOC) and F. oxysporum f. sp. melongenae (FOMG) isolates. The second cluster mainly comprised F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) and F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (FORL) isolates. The highest percentage of loci in significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) was detected for FOL, whereas the lowest level of LD was found for FOC, and 95.2%, 99.4%, 99.1% and 97.4% of the relative kinship estimates were less than 0.4 for FOL, FOMG, FORL and FOC, respectively. LD differences were detected among formae speciales, and LD was higher in FOL as compare to FOC species. The findings of this study confirm that iPBS‐retrotransposon markers are highly polymorphic at the intraspecific level in Fusarium spp.

Background: Cicer reticulatum L. is the wild progenitor of chickpea Cicer arietinum L., the fourth most important pulse crop in the world. Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) are vital micronutrients that play crucial roles in sustaining life by acting as co-factors for various proteins. Aims and Objectives: In order to improve micronutrient-dense chickpea lines, this study aimed to investigate variability and detect DNA markers associated with Fe and Zn concentrations in the seeds of 73 cultivated (C. arietinum L.) and 107 C. reticulatum genotypes. Methods: A set of 180 accessions was genotyped using 20,868 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers obtained from genotyping by sequencing analysis. Results: The results revealed substantial variation in the seed Fe and Zn concentration of the surveyed population. Using STRUCTURE software, the population structure was divided into two groups according to the principal component analysis and neighbor-joining tree analysis. A total of 23 and 16 associated SNP markers related to Fe and Zn concentrations, respectively were identified in TASSEL software by the mixed linear model method. Significant SNP markers found in more than two environments were accepted as more reliable than those that only existed in a single environment. Conclusion: The identified markers can be used in marker-assisted selection in chickpea breeding programs for the improvement of seed Fe and Zn concentrations in the chickpea.

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Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important food legume crops consumed by human beings and can be used to counteract specific dietary deficiencies. Protein, lutein, vitamin C, and fructose are among the important nutritional value components of chickpea. The objectives of this study were to determine genetic variation in the concentrations of nutritional value components in the seeds of cultivated Cicer arietinum and its wild progenitor Cicer reticulatum Ladiz. and detect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with these concentrations. A representative population of 180 Cicer genotypes from the two species was evaluated in two locations in Turkey in 2 yr, and the population was genotyped using 121,840 SNP markers obtained using the genotyping‐by‐sequencing analysis. The associations between the nutritional value components and loci were investigated in TASSEL software using the mixed linear model method through three different analyses. A considerable SNP stability was observed between the different year–site replicates, and 29, 10, 14, and 4 SNPs were significantly associated with protein, lutein, vitamin C, and fructose, respectively. This study provides an understanding of the genetic basis of variability in the seed concentrations of nutritional value components in chickpea. The identified markers can be used for marker‐assisted selection to improve the nutritional value components of chickpea in biofortification programs.

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