Abstract
Estimation of genetic diversity in rapeseed/canola is important for sustainable breeding program to provide an option for the development of new breeding lines. The objective of this study was to elucidate the patterns of genetic diversity within and among different structural groups, and measure the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) of 383 globally distributed rapeseed/canola germplasm using 8,502 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The germplasm accessions were divided into five subpopulations (P1 to P5) with obvious geographic and growth habit-related patterns. All subpopulations showed moderate genetic diversity (average H = 0.22 and I = 0.34). The pairwise Fst comparison revealed a great degree of divergence (Fst > 0.24) between most of the combinations. The rutabaga type showed highest divergence with spring and winter types. Higher divergence was also found between winter and spring types. Overall, mean linkage disequilibrium was 0.03 and it decayed to its half maximum within < 45 kb distance for whole genome. The LD decay was slower in C genome (< 93 kb), relative to the A genome (< 21 kb) which was confirmed by availability of larger haplotype blocks in C genome than A genome. To maximize genetic gain, hybridization between rutabaga and other types are potentially the best option. Hybridization between spring and winter, semi-winter type is also helpful to maximize the diversity in subsequent populations. Low genetic differentiation between both spring type subpopulations (P4 and P3) will accelerate favorable allele accumulation for specific traits in elite lines. The Neighbor-Joining tree and kinship matrix will assist to identify distantly related genotypes from subpopulations to utilize in hybridization. The low levels of LD and population structure make the core collection an important resource for association mapping efforts to identify genes useful in crop improvement as well as for selection of parents for hybrid breeding.
