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Öğe Characterization of genetic diversity in Turkish common bean gene pool using phenotypic and whole-genome DArTseq-generated silicoDArT marker information(Public Library Science, 2018) Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Çiftçi, Vahdettin; Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad; Karaköy, TolgaTurkey presents a great diversity of common bean landraces in farmers' fields. We collected 183 common bean accessions from 19 different Turkish geographic regions and 5 scarlet runner bean accessions to investigate their genetic diversity and population structure using phenotypic information (growth habit, and seed weight, flower color, bracteole shape and size, pod shape and leaf shape and color), geographic provenance and 12,557 silicoDArT markers. A total of 24.14% markers were found novel. For the entire population (188 accessions), the expected heterozygosity was 0.078 and overall gene diversity, Fst and Fis were 0.14, 0.55 and 1, respectively. Using marker information, model-based structure, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) algorithms clustered the 188 accessions into two main populations A (predominant) and B, and 5 unclassified genotypes, representing 3 meaningful heterotic groups for breeding purposes. Phenotypic information clearly distinguished these populations; population A and B, respectively, were bigger (>40g/100 seeds) and smaller (<40g/100 seeds) seed-sized. The unclassified population was pure and only contained climbing genotypes with 100 seed weight 2-3 times greater than populations A and B. Clustering was mainly based on A: seed weight, B: growth habit, C: geographical provinces and D: flower color. Mean kinship was generally low, but population B was more diverse than population A. Overall, a useful level of gene and genotypic diversity was observed in this work and can be used by the scientific community in breeding efforts to develop superior common bean strains.Öğe Common bean as a potential crop for future food security: An overview of past, current and future contributions in genomics, transcriptomics, transgenics and proteomics(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Yeken, Mehmet Zahit; Shahid, Muhammad Qasim; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Yılmaz, Hilal; Alsaleh, Ahmad; Hatipoğlu, Rüştü; Çilesiz, Yeter; Khawar, Khalid Mahmood; Ludidi, Ndiko; Ercişli, Sezai; Aasim, Muhammad; Karaköy, Tolga; Baloch, Faheem ShahzadCommon bean is an important legume crop having high quality protein, micronutrients, vitamins and antioxidants, which makes it a "grain of hope" for poor communities. Hence, a good number of breeding activities have been performed on the improvement of various key traits for years. However, recent advancements in molecular markers, sequencing technologies and the completion of the common bean genome sequence have opened numerous opportunities for fine mapping and gene characterization. The availability of these tools together with investigations of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and candidate genes for key traits such as morpho-agronomic, iron and zinc contents, cooking and quality traits, antioxidant activity, biotic and abiotic stresses pave the way to the development of new strategies for common bean genetic improvement. As a food source, it can contribute to the reduction of food scarcity worldwide in the coming years. Therefore, it is very important to take synergic efforts to integrate common bean genetic and genomic resources in breeding activities to ensure food security and contribute significantly to improved livelihoods in developing countries. Moreover, Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) and CRISPR-Cas9 should be used to develop climate resilience common bean varieties. Here, we provide an overview of the evolution of common bean research by highlighting the past and recent advances in genomics, transgenics, transcriptomics and proteomics and also critically discuss the future prospects for further genetic improvement and better expansion of this crop.Öğe Exploring the genetic diversity and population structure of Turkish laurel germplasm by the iPBS-retrotransposon marker system(Mdpi, 2019) Karık, Ünal; Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Ercişli, Sezai; Yıldız, Mehtap; Yılmaz, Abdurrahim; Baloch, Faheem ShehzadLaurel is a medicinally important plant and is known to the world for its essential oil. Turkey is the main market in the laurel leaf trade by sharing about 90% of the world trade. Here we made an effort to elucidate genetic diversity and population structure of 94 Turkish laurel genotypes collected from 26 provinces and four geographical regions using inter-primer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposon markers. A total of 13 most polymorphic primers were selected which yielded 195 total bands, of which 84.10% were found polymorphic. Mean polymorphism information content (PIC) was (0.361) and diversity indices including mean effective number of alleles (1.36), mean Shannon's information index (0.35) and overall gene diversity (0.22) revealed the existence of sufficient amount of genetic diversity in the studied plant material. Most diversity was found in genotypes collected from the Mediterranean region. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most of the variation (85%) in Turkish laurel germplasm is due to differences within populations. Model-based structure, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and neighbor-joining algorithms were found in agreement and clustered the studied germplasm according to their collection provinces and regions. This is a very first study exploring the genetic diversity and population structure of laurel germplasm using iPBS-retrotransposon marker system. We believe that information provided in this work will be helpful for the scientific community to take more interest in this forgotten but the medicinally important plant.Öğe Genetic diversity and population structure of endangered rosewood from the Peruvian Amazon using ISSR markers(Inst Nacional Pesquisas Amazonia, 2020) Vasquez Guizado, Stalin Juan; Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Ali, Fawad; Barut, Muzaffer; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Pacheco Gomez, Tedi; Vargas Santillan, Jhon Antoni; Baloch, Faheem ShehzadRosewood, Aniba rosaeodora is an endangered species in Amazon forests and its natural stands have been heavily depleted due to over-exploitation for the cosmetic industry. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of 90 rosewood accessions from eight localities in the Peruvian Amazon through 11 Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) primers. The ISSR primers produced a sum of 378 bands, of which 375 (99.2%) were polymorphic, with an average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.774. The mean effective number of alleles (Ne), Shannon informative index (I), gene diversity (He) and total gene diversity (Ht) were 1.485, 0.294, 0.453 and 0.252, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed the presence of maximum variability within populations (88%). The Structure algorithm, neighbor joining and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) grouped the 90 rosewood accessions into three main populations (A, B and C). Diversity indices at the inter-population level revealed a greater genetic diversity in population A, due to higher gene flow. The neighbor-joining analysis grouped populations A and B, while population C was found to be divergent at the inter population level. We concluded that population A reflects higher genetic diversity and should be prioritized for future management and conservation plans.Öğe Genetic diversity, population structure and marker- trait association for 100-seed weight in international safflower panel using silicodart marker information(MDPI AG, 2020) Ali, Fawad; Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Barut, Muzaffer; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Sameeullah, Muhammad; Shehzad Baloch, FaheemSafflower is an important oilseed crop mainly grown in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The aim of this study was to explore phenotypic and genetic diversity, population structure, and marker-trait association for 100-seed weight in 94 safflower accessions originating from 26 countries using silicoDArT markers. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant genotypic effects (p < 0.01), while Turkey samples resulted in higher 100-seed weight compared to Pakistan samples. A Constellation plot divided the studied germplasm into two populations on the basis of their 100-seed weight. Various mean genetic diversity parameters including observed number of alleles (1.99), effective number of alleles (1.54), Shannon’s information index (0.48), expected heterozygosity (0.32), and unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.32) for the entire population exhibited sufficient genetic diversity using 12232 silicoDArT markers. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most of the variations (91%) in world safflower panel are due to differences within country groups. A model-based structure grouped the 94 safflower accessions into populations A, B, C and an admixture population upon membership coefficient. Neighbor joining analysis grouped the safflower accessions into two populations (A and B). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) also clustered the safflower accessions on the basis of geographical origin. Three accessions; Egypt-5, Egypt-2, and India-2 revealed the highest genetic distance and hence might be recommended as candidate parental lines for safflower breeding programs. The mixed linear model i.e., the Q + K model, demonstrated that two DArTseq markers (DArT-45483051 and DArT-15672391) had significant association (p < 0.01) for 100-seed weight. We envisage that identified DArTseq markers associated with 100-seed weight will be helpful to develop high-yielding cultivars of safflower through marker-assisted breeding in the near future.Öğe Genome-wide association mapping of total antioxidant capacity, phenols, tannins, and flavonoids in a panel of Sorghum bicolor and S. bicolor x S. halepense populations using multi-locus models(Public Library Science, 2019) Habyarimana, Ephrem; Dall'Agata, Michela; De Franceschi, Paolo; Baloch, Faheem ShahzadSorghum is widely used for producing food, feed, and biofuel, and it is increasingly grown to produce grains rich in health-promoting antioxidants. The conventional use of grain color as a proxy to indirectly select against or for antioxidants polyphenols in sorghum grain was hampered by the lack of consistency between grain color and the expected antioxidants concentration. Marker-assisted selection built upon significant loci identified through linkage disequilibrium studies showed interesting potential in several plant breeding and animal husbandry programs, and can be used in sorghum breeding for consumer-tailored antioxidant production. The purpose of this work was therefore to conduct genome-wide association study of sorghum grain antioxidants using single nucleotide polymorphisms in a novel diversity panel of Sorghum bicolor landraces and S. bicolor x S. halepense recombinant inbred lines. The recombinant inbred lines outperformed landraces for antioxidant production and contributed novel polymorphism. Antioxidant traits were highly correlated and showed very high broad-sense heritability. The genome-wide association analysis uncovered 96 associations 55 of which were major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) explaining 15 to 31% of the observed antioxidants variability. Eight major QTLs localized in novel chromosomal regions. Twenty-four pleiotropic major effect markers and two novel functional markers (Chr9_1550093, Chr10_50169631) were discovered. A novel pleiotropic major effect marker (Chr1_61095994) explained the highest proportion (R-2 = 27-31%) of the variance observed in most traits evaluated in this work, and was in linkage disequilibrium with a hotspot of 19 putative glutathione S-transferase genes conjugating anthocyanins into vacuoles. On chromosome four, a hotspot region was observed involving major effect markers linked with putative MYB-bHLH-WD40 complex genes involved in the biosynthesis of the polyphenol class of flavonoids. The findings in this work are expected to help the scientific community particularly involved in marker assisted breeding for the development of sorghum cultivars with consumer-tailored antioxidants concentration.Öğe Genomic selection for optimum index with dry biomass yield, dry mass fraction of fresh material, and plant height in biomass sorghum(Mdpi, 2020) Habyarimana, Ephrem; Lopez-Cruz, Marco; Baloch, Faheem ShehzadSorghum is one of the world's major crops, expresses traits for resilience to climate change, and can be used for several purposes including food and clean fuels. Multiple-trait genomic prediction and selection models were implemented using genotyping-by-sequencing single nucleotide polymorphism markers and phenotypic data information. We demonstrated for the first time the efficiency genomic selection modelling of index selection including biofuel traits such as aboveground biomass yield, plant height, and dry mass fraction of the fresh material. This work also sheds light, for the first time, on the promising potential of using the information from the populations grown from seed to predict the performance of the populations regrown from the rhizomes-even two winter seasons after the original trial was sown. Genomic selection modelling of the optimum index selection including the three traits of interest (plant height, aboveground dry biomass yield, and dry mass fraction of fresh mass material) was the most promising. Since the plant characteristics evaluated herein are routinely measured in cereal and other plant species of agricultural interest, it can be inferred that the findings can be transferred in other major crops.Öğe Geographical description and molecular characterization of genetic structure and diversity using a 6K SNP array in Turkish oat germplasm(Canadian Science Publishing, Nrc Research Press, 2019) Cömertpay, Gönül; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Baloch, Faheem Shehzad; Güngör, Hüseyin; Dokuyucu, Tevrican; Akkaya, Aydın; Dumlupınar, ZiyaCultivated oat (Avena sativa L. and Avena byzantina Koch) is native to Turkey, a secondary center of oat diversity. Oat breeding has received less attention relative to other cereals. In this work, the diversity of oat landraces collected from different regions of Turkey as well as obtained from different gene banks was investigated using 3293 high quality SNP markers. Expected heterozygosity (Hs), observed heterozygosity (Ho), inbreeding coefficient (Fis), and overall genetic diversity (Ht) of the oat gene pool were 0.22, 0.01, 0.96, and 0.38, respectively. The value of the genetic differentiation (Fst) metric for genetic structure was 0.41 and indicated that kinship was more of a determinant for population structure than the geographical provenance. The populations from different geographical regions shared a great proportion of genetic diversity. Clustering using model-based STRUCTURE, principal coordinates (PCoA), and neighbour-joining (NJ) algorithms were mostly comparable except for five discrepantly clustered accessions in NJ and PCoA relative to STRUCTURE, which can be attributed to the relatively reduced resolution power in the NJ and PCoA approaches. SNP markers partitioned all oat accessions into four main groups (A, B, C, and D) with 10 unclassified accessions. Some landraces were identical based on genetic distance and can represent duplications in gene banks. The data presented in this work represent the initial results on genetic diversity as investigated in Turkish oat, and are an important resource for systematicians, geneticists, and breeders interested in Turkish oat germplasm. These results are expected to open new opportunities for further studies in oat genomics and cultivar development.Öğe Legumes Biofortification(Springer International Publishing, 2023) Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Baloch, Faheem Shehzad; Fiaz, Sajid; Aasim, Muhammad; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Sönmez, Osman; Zencirci, NusretSustainable food production is vital to ensure food and nutritional security to growing human population. Recently, there has been a shift in agricultural production system, crop production is not only considering yield as primary interest to produce higher number of calories for reducing hunger, but also more nutrient-rich food to reduce malnutrition or “hidden hunger”. Micronutrient malnutrition is a continuing and serious public health problem in many countries, various Interventions to alleviate this problem have been implemented. Biofortification, the process of breeding nutrients into food crops, provides a comparatively cost effective, sustainable, and long-term means of delivering more micronutrients. Legumes have higher protein content than most plant foods approximately twice than cereals and are rich in the key micronutrients folate, niacin, thiamine, calcium, iron and zinc. This book summarizes the biofortification of legumes. Detailed information through contributed chapters shed light on legumes research relevant to human health, with key topics that include genomic and genetic resources for food security, conventional and modern breeding approaches for improving nutrition, agronomic traits and biotechnological interventions. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.Öğe Magnesium- a forgotten element: Phenotypic variation and genome wide association study in Turkish common bean germplasm(Frontiers Media SA, 2022) Baloch, Faheem Shehzad; Nadeem, Muhammad Azha; Sönmez, Ferit; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Mustafa, Zemran; Çiftçi, VahdettinMagnesium (Mg) is the fourth most abundant element in the human body and plays the role of cofactor for more than 300 enzymatic reactions. In plants, Mg is involved in various key physiological and biochemical processes like growth, development, photophosphorylation, chlorophyll formation, protein synthesis, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Keeping in view the importance of this element, the present investigation aimed to explore the Mg contents diversity in the seeds of Turkish common bean germplasm and to identify the genomic regions associated with this element. A total of 183 common bean accessions collected from 19 provinces of Turkey were used as plant material. Field experiments were conducted according to an augmented block design during 2018 in two provinces of Turkey, and six commercial cultivars were used as a control group. Analysis of variance depicted that Mg concentration among common bean accessions was statistically significant (p < 0.05) within each environment, however genotype x environment interaction was non-significant. A moderate level (0.60) of heritability was found in this study. Overall mean Mg contents for both environments varied from 0.33 for Nigde-Dermasyon to 1.52 mg kg(-1) for Nigde-Derinkuyu landraces, while gross mean Mg contents were 0.92 mg kg(-1). At the province level, landraces from Bolu were rich while the landraces from Bitlis were poor in seed Mg contents respectively. The cluster constellation plot divided the studied germplasm into two populations on the basis of their Mg contents. Marker-trait association was performed using a mixed linear model (Q + K) with a total of 7,900 DArTseq markers. A total of six markers present on various chromosomes (two at Pv01, and one marker at each chromosome i.e., Pv03, Pv07, Pv08, Pv11) showed statistically significant association for seed Mg contents. Among these identified markers, the DArT-3367607 marker present on chromosome Pv03 contributed to maximum phenotypic variation (7.5%). Additionally, this marker was found within a narrow region of previously reported markers. We are confident that the results of this study will contribute significantly to start common bean breeding activities using marker assisted selection regarding improved Mg contents.Öğe Mobile genomic element diversity in world collection of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) panel using iPBS-retrotransposon markers(Public Library Science, 2019) Ali, Fawad; Yılmaz, Abdurrahim; Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Subaşı, İlhan; Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad; Chaudhary, Hassan JavedSafflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a multipurpose crop of dry land yielding very high quality of edible oil. Present study was aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of 131 safflower accessions originating from 28 different countries using 13 iPBS-retrotransposon markers. A total of 295 iPBS bands were observed among which 275 (93.22%) were found polymorphic. Mean Polymorphism information content (0.48) and diversity parameters including mean effective number of alleles (1.33), mean Shannon's information index (0.33), overall gene diversity (0.19), Fstatistic (0.21), and inbreeding coefficient (1.00) reflected the presence of sufficient amount of genetic diversity in the studied plant materials. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that more than 40% of genetic variation was derived from populations. Model-based structure, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) algorithms clustered the 131 safflower accessions into four main populations A, B, C, D and an unclassified population, with no meaningful geographical origin. Most diverse accessions originated from Asian countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Turkey, and India. Four accessions, Turkey3, Afghanistan4, Afghanistan2, and Pakistan24 were found most genetically distant and might be recommended as a candidate parents for breeding purposes. The findings of this study are most probably supported by the seven similarity centers hypothesis of safflower. This is a first study to explore the genetic diversity and population structure in safflower accessions using the iPBS-retrotransposon markers. The information provided in this work will therefore be helpful for scientists interested in safflower breeding.Öğe Molecular characterization of genetic diversity and similarity centers of safflower accessions with ISSR markers(Soc Botanica Sao Paulo, 2020) Ali, Fawad; Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Yılmaz, Abdurrahim; Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad; Khalil, Iftikhar Hussain; Ercişli, Sezai; Baloch, Faheem ShehzadCrop genetic resources are vital inputs in crop genetic improvement. In this study, genetic diversity, population structure, and similarity centers for 131 safflower accessions obtained from 28 countries were investigated using 12 ISSR markers. A sum of 201 ISSR bands were obtained among which 188 (93.844%) were found polymorphic. Mean polymorphism information content (0.448) and diversity parameters including mean effective number of alleles (1.655), mean Shannon's information index (0.557), mean expected heterozygosity (0.354), and mean overall gene diversity (0.377) showed a good level of genetic diversity in the studied safflower materials. Model-based structure, unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means, and principal coordinate analysis clustered all accessions into three main populations; A, B, and C and an unclassified population. Accessions originated from Asian countries like Pakistan and Israel were found most diverse. Three accessions, Pakistan-11, Israel-1, and Pakistan-26, were found most genetically distant and might be used as parental sources for genetic combinations in safflower breeding activities. Analysis of molecular variance revealed highly significant differentiation among the identified populations and population x country combinations. The results presented in this work most probably supported the hypothesis of seven similarity centers of safflower but need to be validated with further confirmed investigations. The information provided herein is expected to be helpful for the scientific community interested in safflower breeding.Öğe Phenotypic characterization of 183 Turkish common bean accessions for agronomic, trading, and consumer-preferred plant characteristics for breeding purposes(Mdpi, 2020) Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Karaköy, Tolga; Yeken, Mehmet Zahit; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Hatipoğlu, Rüştü; Çiftçi, Vahdettin; Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad; Sönmez, Ferit; Baloch, Faheem ShahzadPlant landraces represent a repository of a gene pool, local adaptation of their domestic species, and thereby are considered a great source of genetic variations. Such genetic variation can be helpful to mitigate the current and future food challenges. A total of 183 common bean accessions including three commercial varieties collected from 19 Turkish provinces were grown to record their morpho-agronomic variations and to evaluate the best performing accessions under multi-environmental conditions. Plant height, days to maturity, pods weight, seed length, and 100-seed weight were used to evaluate the best performing accessions under different environmental conditions. A wide range of variations for traits like days to maturity (99-161), plant height (21-168.7 cm), seed length (7.41-16.4 mm), seeds per plant (17.8-254.4), and 100-seeds weight (24.97-73.8 g) were observed and can be useful for breeding purposes. The analytic results derived from the first three eigenvectors suggested that plant height, plant weight, 100-seed weight, and days to flowering were biologically significant bean traits. Seed yield per plant was positively and significantly correlated with plant weight and pods weight. Genotype x environment biplot discriminated the studied common bean accessions based on their plant height and growth habit. Plant height, days to maturity, seed width, and first pod height were found highly heritable traits and were least affected by environmental forces. Among 19 provinces, accessions of Bilecik showed maximum pods per plant, seed yield per plant and 100-seed weight, while Erzincan and Sivas provinces reflected the prevalence of bushy and early maturing accessions. Information provided herein comprehensively explored the occurrence of genotypic variations which can be used for the development of candidate varieties responding to breeder, farmer, and consumer preferences.Öğe Uncovering phenotypic diversity and dArTseq marker Loci associated with antioxidant activity in common bean(Mdpi, 2020) Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar; Gündoğdu, Müttalip; Ercişli, Sezai; Karaköy, Tolga; Saracoğlu, Onur; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Lin, XiaoAntioxidants play an important role in animal and plant life owing to their involvement in complex metabolic and signaling mechanisms, hence uncovering the genetic basis associated with antioxidant activity is very important for the development of improved varieties. Here, a total of 182 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) landraces and six commercial cultivars collected from 19 provinces of Turkey were evaluated for seed antioxidant activity under four environments and two locations. Antioxidant activity was measured using ABTS radical scavenging capacity and mean antioxidant activity in common bean landraces was 20.03 mu mol TE/g. Analysis of variance reflected that genotype by environment interaction was statistically non-significant and heritability analysis showed higher heritability of antioxidant activity. Variations in seed color were observed, and a higher antioxidant activity was present in seeds having colored seed as compared to those having white seeds. A negative correlation was found between white-colored seeds and antioxidant activity. A total of 7900 DArTseq markers were used to explore the population structure that grouped the studied germplasm into two sub-populations on the basis of their geographical origins and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity contents. Mean linkage disequilibrium (LD) was 54%, and mean LD decay was 1.15 Mb. Mixed linear model i.e., the Q + K model demonstrated that four DArTseq markers had significant association (p < 0.01) for antioxidant activity. Three of these markers were present on chromosome Pv07, while the fourth marker was located on chromosome Pv03. Among the identified markers, DArT-3369938 marker showed maximum (14.61%) variation. A total of four putative candidate genes were predicted from sequences reflecting homology to identified DArTseq markers. This is a pioneering study involving the identification of association for antioxidant activity in common bean seeds. We envisage that this study will be very helpful for global common bean breeding community in order to develop cultivars with higher antioxidant activity.Öğe Wheat landraces(Springer International Publishing, 2021) Zencirci, Nusret; Baloch, Faheem S.; Habyarimana, Ephrem; Chung, GyuhwaLandraces possess a very large genetic base in population structure and are dynamic populations of cultivated plants with historical origin, distinct identity, and without any formal crop improvement. They are often genetically diverse, locally adapted, and associated with traditional farming systems. Resistance genes to biotic and abiotic stress factors, which are especially diversified in landraces, are of great interest to plant breeders, faced with global climate challenge. In addition, gene pools made of different landraces grown in different ecological conditions can be used for wheat breeding to enhance quality; yield and other desirable agricultural parameters. An estimated 75% of the genetic diversity of crop plants was lost in the last century due to the replacement of high yielding modern varieties. There is, thus, an urgent need to preserve existing species, not only for posterity but also as a means to secure food supply for a rising world population. In this book, we provide an overview of wheat landraces with special attention to genetic diversities, conservation, and utilization. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.