Diversity and Eco-Geographical Distribution Pattern of Some Aegilops Species from the Zagros and Alborz Mountain Ranges of Iran

Aegilops species are valuable sources of genetic diversity that have played a vital role in the genetic development throughout wheat’s evolution. However, a huge portion of their biodiversity in Iran as a centre of wheat origin and diversity remains unknown, which may be lost due to climate change. Hence, a diverse collection of 300 Aegilops accessions was assembled from different geographical regions of Iran and their morphological variation was evaluated with respect to ecological conditions to reveal their potential use in wheat breeding programs. The accessions were categorized in eight different species (Ae. tauschii, Ae. umbellulata, Ae. cylindrica, Ae. biuncialis, Ae. neglecta, Ae. triuncialis, Ae. crassa, and Ae. kotschyi). The Zagros and Alborz Mountain ranges were the two main habitats of Aegilops accessions in Iran, but they were absent in the regions with warm winters. Species variability in Zagros was higher than that of Alborz. Shannon–Weaver Diversity Index for different traits showed tremendous diversity among the accessions. The D-genome bearing species were more diverse than the U-genome ones. The variations in morphological characters significantly were related to ecological factors of sampling points. Aegilops accessions were compatible with a wide range of ecological conditions, which indicates their great potential as valuable sources for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Pre-breeding on this germplasm especially accessions bearing D-genome could be initiated for introgression of new alleles into common wheat to mitigate environmental limitations imposed by climate change.