TY - JOUR T1 - Life story of Tunisian durum wheat landraces revealed by their genetic and phenotypic diversity JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2020.08.14.251157 SP - 2020.08.14.251157 AU - Safa Ben Krima AU - Amine Slim AU - Sandrine Gélisse AU - Hajer Kouki AU - Isabelle Nadaud AU - Pierre Sourdille AU - Amor Yahyaoui AU - Sarrah Ben M’barek AU - Frédéric Suffert AU - Thierry C Marcel Y1 - 2020/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/08/14/2020.08.14.251157.abstract N2 - Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum) landraces represent a prominent genetic resource for Mediterranean farming systems and breeding programs. Fourteen landraces sampled in Tunisia were genotyped with 9 microsatellite markers and characterized with 15 morphological descriptors, including resistance to the fungal disease Septoria tritici blotch (STB). The genetic diversity, nearly was as important within landraces populations (45%) than between populations (54%). It was structured in seven genetic groups and was only partly explained by the variety name or the locality of origin. Populations were also greatly diversified phenotypically (Shannon-Weaver H’=0.54) with traits related to spike and awn colours being the most diversified. Resistance to STB was either qualitative in two populations or with varying degrees of quantitative resistance in the others. A Pst-Fst comparison indicate a local adaptation of the populations. Overall, the genetic structure of Tunisian durum wheat landraces revealed a complex selection trajectory and seed exchanges between farmers.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -