Consequences of a decentralized participatory barley breeding programme on changes in SSR allele frequency and diversity in one cycle of selection

Abstract

Changes in allele type, allele frequency and genetic diversity because of selection by individual farmers and breeders were assessed using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) during one cycle of selection in a decentralized participatory barley breeding programme. Selection by both breeders and farmers resulted in the loss of a number of alleles in the majority of the locations, with more alleles lost in the heterogeneous breeding materials than in the fixed genotypes, indicating selection against undesirable traits uncovered in the heterogeneous breeding materials that are presumably linked to SSR alleles. After selection, significant allelic frequency changes were observed at several loci in both the germplasm groups. As the selection was conducted independently in each location, an allele had a chance of being selected in more than one location, and therefore considering the whole study area the allelic composition and diversity of the original genetic materials was maintained after the selection. The study showed the importance of decentralized participatory plant breeding in maintaining genetic diversity that helps stabilize and sustain production in unpredictable production conditions.