Are the agronomic performance and grain quality characteristics of bread wheat Mediterranean landraces related to the climate prevalent in their area of origin?

Discovering Loci for Breeding Prospective and Phenology in Wheat Mediterranean Landraces by Environmental and eigenGWAS

“…Climatic data are highly correlated with the adaptation of the crop. As it is shown by different authors [ 22 , 29 ], PCoA using molecular data followed the climatic classification reported by these authors when genotypes were grouped by their country of origin. However, the high level of admixture and genetic exchange in the Mediterranean landraces according to Rufo et al [ 12 ] revealed an unclear pattern when comparing PCoA using structure or climatic data.…”

“…In addition, 2017 showed the shortest periods from booting to anthesis and grain filling. Considering the climatic zones defined by [ 22 ], a clear separation between the north and south of the Mediterranean basin is reflected. No significant differences were observed between North Balkan and North Coast zones, whereas, for those in the south, only significant differences were observed for DBA.…”

“…Groups A and C are composed mainly of south Mediterranean landraces (76% and 61%, respectively), whereas 95% of the landraces in group B corresponded to north Mediterranean landraces. From the total of southern landraces in group A, 68% corresponded to the South East climatic zone defined by Royo et al [ 22 ], whereas 90% of the southern landraces in group C corresponded to the South West climatic zone. If the genetic subpopulation (SP) is considered, the main SP for the groups A, B and C were SP3 (East Mediterranean) (47%), SP2 (North Mediterranean) (68%), and SP1 (West Mediterranean) (51%), respectively.…”

“…EnvGWAS has been reported as a valuable and complementary approach to identify genomic regions related to adaptation to abiotic stress [ 21 ]. The hierarchical clustering reported by Royo et al [ 22 ] using the long-term climatic data of the main growing areas of wheat in the Mediterranean basin showed a clear geographic pattern separating the north coast countries from the southern ones. Climatic data are highly correlated with the adaptation of the crop.…”

“…The use of wild relatives or landraces that are well adapted to their regions of origin is of special interest when breeding in suboptimal environments such as the Mediterranean basin to improve the modern cultivars to face the challenges of climate change [ 19 ]. In a previous study using the same collection of landraces, Royo et al [ 22 ] found differences in the agronomic performance of the landraces from the northern and southern areas of the Mediterranean Sea. The authors found a clear association between these traits and the climatic conditions of the countries of origin of the landraces.…”