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Morpho-physiological and qualitative variation of domesticated einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum)

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Abstract

A pool of 158 Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum accessions, originating from different traditional cropping areas and representative of the einkorn germplasm collection maintained at Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, was characterised for 20 morpho-physiological and qualitative descriptors. The accessions were grown for 4 years in two different Po plain (Italy) locations. The traits analysed were growth habit, awn length, glume colour and hairiness, rachis brittleness, heading date, plant height, spike length, n° spikelets/spike, spikelet density, n° kernels/spikelet, kernel length, width, thickness and volume, thousand kernels weight, protein and carotenoid content, sodium dodecyl sulphate sedimentation volume and specific sedimentation volume. A broad variation for all the traits studied was detected and promising accessions for breeding purposes were identified. Several characteristics showed a clear region-specific pattern: the samples tracing their origin to warmer climates were earlier-maturing, taller, had shorter spikes, fewer spikelet/spike, bigger kernels and lower protein content than those from cooler regions. A Principal Components Analysis highlighted the existence of two clusters composed mainly of Maghreb/Iberia and of Prealpine genotypes, whose peculiar characteristics are most likely a consequence of adaptation, by natural selection or by human practices and ingenuity, to their growing environments.

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  • 09 April 2020

    The original version of this article was revised: In the original publication of the article, the word “symbol” was mistakenly added to the article title.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge with gratitude the following donors: Dr. Leonor Peña-Chocarro, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid, Spain; Dr. Giuseppe Mariani, Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, Rome, Italy; Max Planck Institut, Cologne, Germany; Institut für Genetik und Kulturpflanzen Forschung, Gatersleben, Germany; Institut für Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenzüchtung, Braunschweig, Germany; Istituto di Genetica e Sperimentazione Agraria N. Strampelli, Lonigo, Italy; Istituto del Germoplasma, Bari, Italy; Istituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria, Argentina; Vavilov All Union Institute of Plant Industry, Saint Petersburg, Russia; Institut Fédérale de Recherches Agronomiques, Nyon, Switzerland; Cambridge Laboratory, Norwich, England; Australian Winter Cereals Collection, Tamworth, Australia; University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA; National Small Grains Collection, Aberdeen, Idaho, USA.

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Correspondence to Andrea Brandolini.

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The original version of this article was revised: In the original publication of the article, the word “symbol” was mistakenly added to the article title.

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Online Resource 3. Score plot of the Principal Component Analysis carried out for the country of origin mean values of the 20 traits scored on the 158 Triticum monococcum analysed. (DOCX 36 kb)

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Volante, A., Yilmaz, V.A., Hidalgo, A. et al. Morpho-physiological and qualitative variation of domesticated einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum). Genet Resour Crop Evol 67, 1493–1502 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-020-00923-6

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