Genetic Diversity among Selected Medicago sativa Cultivars Using Inter-Retrotransposon-Amplified Polymorphism, Chloroplast DNA Barcodes and Morpho-Agronomic Trait Analyses

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a major forage crop of family Fabaceae and is frequently cultivated in Egypt. The present study is concerned with the genetic discrimination of fifteen alfalfa cultivars from three different countries (Egypt, Australia, and USA) using two molecular approaches: inter-retrotransposon-amplified polymorphism (IRAP) markers and two chloroplast DNA barcodes matK and the trnH in addition to the analysis of fifteen morpho-agronomic traits. The genetic relatedness, based on analysis of IRAP marker polymorphism and produced using eleven primers by clustering via principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate heatmap biostatistical methods differentiated the two Egyptian cultivars EGY1-Ismailia1 and EGY2-Nubaria1 from the three Australian and seven American cultivars, with some distinction of the cv. USA6-SW9720 and cv. AUS4-SuperFast. The results were also supported by the sequence analysis of the matK and the trnH genes on the genetic relatedness between eight cultivars. Moreover, it might be suggested that breeding lines from M. sativa cultivars may provide novel insights and a better understanding of the domestication of M. sativa genetic diversity. The classification of the eight cultivars, as revealed by morpho-agronomic traits, confirmed the close genetic relationship between the two Egyptian cultivars and indicated some resemblance between them and the AUS2-Siri Nafa, whereas the two American cultivars, USA1-Super supreme and USA4-Cuf101, were clearly isolated from a cluster of other three cultivars USA7-SW9628, USA8-Magna901, and USA9-Perfect. The results are useful sources of genetic information for future breeding programs in crop development and open new possibilities of producing M. sativa lines harboring high forage quality, productivity, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Crop Landraces and Indigenous Varieties: A Valuable Source of Genes for Plant Breeding

“…Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) (2n = 4x = 32) is a major legume crop, essential to the sustainability of agriculture [105,106]. Because of its high biomass output, highly nutritious preserved fodder (hay and silage), and extensive environmental adaptability, it is considered one of the major forage legumes worldwide.…”

Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.): Genotypic Diversity and Transgenic Alfalfa for Phytoremediation

“…Seventy-seven alfalfa genotypes from Brazil were explored using 10 SSR markers with 54 alleles (dos . Inter-retrotransposon-amplified polymorphism (IRAP) markers have been used to assess alfalfa's genetic diversity (Badr et al, 2020). Twelve Iranian genotypes were studied based on seed storage proteins patterns (Kakaei and Ahmadian 2021), while the genetic diversity of 25 Russian alfalfa cultivars was examined by sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers (Shamustakimova et al, 2021).…”

Morphological and phenological variability within seven oasis populations of perennial alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in hyper-arid zone of southern Algeria

“…To study this genetic diversity, several authors have used different agronomic and morphological criteria (Dehghan-Shoar et al, 2005;Loumerem et al, 2007;Basafa & Taherian, 2009;Al-Faifi et al, 2013;Arab et al, 2015;Monirifar & Abdollahi, 2014;Tlahig et al, 2017;Chabouni et al, 2019). These criteria are often used in breeding programmes to develop high-yielding cultivars (quantitative and qualitative) (Bolaños et al, 2000;Julier et al, 2000Julier et al, , 2014Badr et al, 2020).…”