Morphological and molecular variability of some south Tunisian barley accessions

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A total of 20 accessions of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) from arid regions of Tunisia were collected and evaluated ex situ in experimental fields (Medenine, South Tunisia). Morphological traits and molecular marker (Random Amplified polymorphic DNA) were applied to evaluate genetic diversity of these accessions. The study showed the existence of a highly significant phenotypical variability. Some parameters (production of straw and grain yield) appeared as good criteria to differentiate particular accessions. Concerning molecular variability, 49 RAPD bands were used to calculate Jaccard's distance coefficient for cluster analysis using an arithmetic averaging algorithm (UPGMA). The genetic distance of the 20 studied accessions ranged between 0.25–0.68. The analysis of the hierarchical tree shows the presence of four ramifications thus translating great genetic diversity.