First assessment of wild Triticum and Aegilops in Hermon mountain, Lebanon

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are an important source of plant genetic diversity, and they constitute a vital resource in the efforts to globally secure food supply for mankind through improved agricultural production. Agromorphological description of CWR is an important requirement for their efficient utilization in breeding programs. In this study, we aimed to survey Mount Hermon, Lebanon to collect wheat wild relatives and submit them to a morphological characterization prior to their conservation at ICARDA international genebank. A total of 33 Triticum and Aegilops accessions were collected consisting of 12 T. dicoccoides, two T. urartu, seven A. ovata, six A. biuncialis, one A. cylandrica, three A. triuncialis and two A. columnaris. These accessions were first multiplied in open field, then assessed through previously developed qualitative and quantitative morphological descriptors related to the leaf, the spike, and the seed yield, in addition to phonological stages. A PCA biplot revealed variation in morphological diversity among the studied Triticum accessions, with three main clusters among the two species. Aegilops accessions clustered almost according to the species, within a same cluster or subcluster at the considered dissimilarity distance. The 33 accessions collected from Mount Hermon and assessed at the phenotypical level are all conserved at ICARDA genebank. The relationships among accessions herein displayed will be further confirmed by the application of molecular marker analyses. The accessions will also be further characterized for their tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses before being shared with national and/or international breeding programs.