Journal of Agronomy and Field Innovations

Background: Wheat leaf rust due to Puccinia triticina induces tremendous crop losses all over the globe. It is vital to study the genetic variation of the pathogen for effective resistance breeding and disease management. 
Objective: The aim of this study is the study of the genetic variation and population structure of the pathogen using simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers and the assessment of the informative value of SSR markers in characterizing the pathogen. 
Methods: A total of 152 isolates of wheat leaf rust pathogen collected from different geographical areas were studied using 18 simple sequence repeat markers. The polymorphism information content, gene diversity, and genetic similarity coefficients were calculated. 
Results: The analysis of molecular markers showed that the level of genetic diversity among groups of isolates was high (PIC=0.78; gene diversity=0.81). The results of the analysis of variance of molecular markers indicated that there was a large variation between populations (71%). 
Conclusion: Using simple sequence repeat molecular markers it is possible to study the genetic diversity of Puccinia triticina pathogens of wheat leaf rust, which provides important information for developing strategies for managing disease control measures.