tjfc Turkish Journal Of Field Crops 1301-1111 3023-6657 Society of Fields Crop Science 10.17557/tjfc.1765420 Plant Biotechnology in Agriculture Agronomy Tarımda Bitki Biyoteknolojisi Agronomi Revealing Genetic Diversity and Drought Tolerance in Durum Wheat through Agro-Physiological and Molecular Approaches https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-5463 Kızılgeçi Ferhat Mardin Artuklu University, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Department of Field Crops, Mardin 47000, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2611-8034 Türkoğlu Aras Necmettin Erbakan University, Faculty of Agriculture Department of Field Crops, 42310, Konya, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4014-491X Haliloğlu Kamil Gazi University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6708-5238 Eliş Seval Mardin Artuklu University, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Department of Field Crops, Mardin 47000, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4617-3533 Polat Büşra ATATÜRK ÜNİVERSİTESİ, ZİRAAT FAKÜLTESİ, TARLA BİTKİLERİ BÖLÜMÜ, TARLA BİTKİLERİ ANABİLİM DALI https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2138-3028 Akçelik Gaye ATATURK UNIVERSITY, ERZURUM FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, AGRICULTURE PR. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2421-4399 Yıldırım Mehmet DİCLE ÜNİVERSİTESİ, ZİRAAT FAKÜLTESİ, TARLA BİTKİLERİ BÖLÜMÜ, TARLA BİTKİLERİ ANABİLİM DALI https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6846-8422 Demirel Fatih Department of Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Iğdır University, Iğdır, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0102-0084 Bocianowski Jan Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland 04 17 2026 31 1 08 16 2025 04 07 2026 Copyright © 1996, Turkish Journal Of Field Crops 1996 Turkish Journal Of Field Crops

Under changing climate conditions, evaluating both genetic and environmental factors is essential for crop improvement. Limitations of conventional breeding have increased the use of molecular markers to obtain precise genotypic information and improve selection efficiency. This study evaluated drought tolerance in 15 durum wheat genotypes across two cropping seasons under rainfed and irrigated conditions. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used to assess agro-physiological traits, quality parameters, drought tolerance indices, and molecular diversity using iPBS and SCoT markers. Significant genotypic variation was observed for grain yield, 1000-kernel weight, hectoliter weight, protein and starch content, and color traits under both conditions. Ovidio had the highest grain yield and starch content, while Seckin 21 showed the highest 1000-kernel weight. Drought tolerance indices identified NZFM-41 and Maestrale as the most drought-resilient, and Ovidio as highly adaptable with stable yield. 12 indices (SSI, TOL, MP, GMP, STI, YI, YSI, HM, SDI, DI, RDI, SSPI) were calculated from yields under stress (Ys) and non-stress (Yp) conditions. Molecular analysis with 14 iPBS and 10 SCoT primers showed greater polymorphism and allelic diversity for iPBS (PIC = 0.287, Nei’s distance = 0.5348) than SCoT (PIC = 0.191, Nei’s distance = 0.2700). Clustering and population structure revealed two subpopulations, with iPBS providing higher resolution (FST = 0.3443). MP, GMP, STI, YI, HM, and DI were the most reliable indices for identifying drought-tolerant genotypes. In conclusion, iPBS markers exhibited higher discriminatory power than SCoT for assessing genetic diversity, while specific indices (MP, GMP, and STI) proved most effective for identifying drought-tolerant durum wheat genotypes, with NZFM-41 and Maestrale emerging as promising genetic resources for breeding programs aimed at enhancing climate resilience.

 Climate Change Drought Tolerance Durum Wheat Genotypes Genetic Diversity Molecular Markers This study was partially supported by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Mardin Artuklu University under project number MAÜ.BAP.22.KMY.030. Abdelghany, M., Makhmer, K., Zayed, E., Salama, Y., & Amer, K. (2023). Genetic variability, principal components, cluster analysis of twenty-eight Egyptian wheat genotypes. Scientific Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 5(1): 107-118. https://doi.org/10.21608/sjas.2023.179573.1272 Abouseada, H.H., Mohamed, A.S.H., Teleb, S.S., Badr, A., Tantawy, M.E., Ibrahim, S.D., & Ibrahim, M. (2023). Genetic diversity analysis in wheat cultivars using SCoT, ISSR markers, chloroplast DNA barcoding, grain SEM. BMC Plant Biology, 23(1): 193. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04196-w Albayrak, O., Kizilgeci, F., Yildirim, M., Akinci, C. (2020). Investigation of grain yield, quality traits of spring bread wheat genotypes grown in different environments. Anadolu Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 35. Almarri, N.B., Alghamdi, S.S., ElShal, M.H., & Afzal, M. (2023). Estimating genetic diversity among durum wheat (Triticum durum desf.) landraces using morphological, SRAP markers. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 22(5): 273-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2023.01.002 Altaf, M.T., Nadeem, M.A., Ali, A., Liaqat, W., Bedir, M., Baran, N., & Baloch, F.S. (2025). Applicability of Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) markers for the assessment of genetic diversity in bread wheat germplasm. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 72(1): 1205-1218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2023.01.002 Apana, N., Amom, T., Tikendra, L., Potshangbam, A. M., Dey, A., & Nongdam, P. (2021). Genetic diversity, population structure of Clerodendrum serratum (L.) Moon using CBDP, iPBS, SCoT markers. Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal, Aromatic Plants, 25: 100349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmap.2021.100349 Ayranci, R., Sade, B., & Soylu, S. (2014). The Respons of Bread Wheat Genotypes in Different Drought Types I. Grain Yield, Drouhgt Tolerance and Grain Yield Stability. Turkish Journal of Field Crops, 19(2): 183-188. https://doi.org/10.17557/tjfc.17813 Ballesta, P., Mora, F., & Del Pozo, A. (2019). Association mapping of drought tolerance indices in wheat: QTL-rich regions on chromosome 4A. Scientia Agricola, 77(2): 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-992X-2018-0153 Bhandari, H.R., Bhanu, A.N., Srivastava, K., Singh, M.N., & Shreya, H.A. (2017). Assessment of genetic diversity in crop plants-an overview. Advances in Plants & Agriculture Research, 7(3): 279-286. Bidinger, F.R., Mahalakshmi, V., & Rao, G.D.P. (1987). Assessment of drought resistance in pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke). II. Estimation of genotype response to stress. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 38(1): 49-59. https://doi.org/10.1071/AR9870049 Blum, A. (1996). Crop responses to drought, the interpretation of adaptation. Plant growth regulation, 20(2): 135-148. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024010 Bokaei, A.S., Sofalian, O., Sorkhilalehloo, B., Asghari, A., & Pour-Aboughadareh, A. (2025). Revealing molecular variability, population structure analysis in Iranian wheat germplasm using CAAT-box derived polymorphism (CBDP) markers. Genetic Resources, Crop Evolution, 72: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-025-02363-6 Bouslama, M. & Schapaugh Jr, W.T. (1984). Stress tolerance in soybeans. I. Evaluation of three screening techniques for heat, drought tolerance. Crop Science, 24(5): 933-937. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1984.0011183X002400050026x Ceylan, N. (2022). Wheat value chain analysis of Turkey: constraints, development possibilities (Doctoral dissertation, Magyar Agrár-és Élettudományi Egyetem). http://doi.org/10.54598/001980. Clarke, A. (1992). Reproduction in the cold: Thorson revisited. Invertebrate Reproduction, Development, 22(1-3): 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1080/07924259.1992.9672270 Collard, B. C., & Mackill, D. J. (2009). Start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism: a simple, novel DNA marker technique for generating gene-targeted markers in plants. Plant molecular biology reporter, 27(1), 86-93. Demirel, F., Yildirim, B., Eren, B., Demirel, S., Turkoglu, A., Haliloglu, K., & Bocianowski, J. (2024). Revealing genetic diversity, population structure in Turkiye’s wheat germplasm using iPBS-retrotransposon markers. Agronomy, 14(2): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020300 Earl, D.A. & VonHoldt, B.M. (2012). Structure Harvester: a website, program for visualizing Structure output, implementing the Evanno method. Conservation Genetics Resources, 4(2): 359-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-011-9548-7 El-Aty, A., Mohamed, S., Gad, K.M., Hefny, Y.A., & Shehata, M.O. (2024). Performance of some wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes, their drought tolerance indices under normal, water stress. Egyptian Journal of Soil Science, 64: 19-30. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejss.2023.234140.1657 El-Rawy, M.A. & Hassan, M.I. (2021). Assessment of genetic diversity in durum, bread wheat genotypes based on drought tolerance, SSR markers. Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, 9: 89-103. https://doi.org/10.9787/PBB.2021.9.2.89 Farshadfar, E., Poursiahbidi, M.M., & Safavi, S.M. (2013). Assessment of drought tolerance in land races of bread wheat based on resistance/tolerance indices. International journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research, 2: 143-158. Fatemi, F., Kianersi, F., Pour-Aboughadareh, A., Poczai, P., & Jadidi, O. (2022). Overview of identified genomic regions associated with various agronomic, physiological traits in barely under abiotic stresses. Applied Sciences, 12(10): 1-31. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12105189 Fernandez, G.C. (1993). Effective selection criteria for assessing plant stress tolerance. Adaptation of food crops to temperature and water stress: proceedings of an international symposium, Taiwan, 13-18 August 1992. Fischer, R., & Maurer, R. (1978). Drought resistance in spring wheat cultivars. I. Grain yield responses. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 29(5): 897-912. https://doi.org/10.1071/AR9780897 Fischer, R., & Wood, J. (1979). Drought resistance in spring wheat cultivars. III.* Yield associations with morpho-physiological traits. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 30: 1001-1020. https://doi.org/10.1071/AR9791001 Gavuzzi, P., Rizza, F., Palumbo, M., Campanile, R., Ricciardi, G., & Borghi, B. (1997). Evaluation of field and laboratory predictors of drought, heat tolerance in winter cereals. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 77: 523-531. https://doi.org/10.4141/P96-130 Göçmen, D. B. (2025). Grain yield stability of durum wheat genotypes: a graphical approach. Turkish Journal Of Field Crops, 30(1), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.17557/tjfc.1769533 Gungor, H., & Dumlupinar, Z. (2019). Evaluation of some bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties in terms of yield, yield components, quality in Bolu conditions. Turkish Journal of Agriculture, Natural Sciences 6(1): 44-51. https://doi.org/10.30910/turkjans.515346 (Turkish with English Abstract) Haliloglu, K., Turkoglu, A., Ozturk, A., Niedbała, G., Niazian, M., Wojciechowski, T., & Piekutowska, M. (2023). Genetic diversity, population structure in bread wheat germplasm from Turkiye using iPBS-retrotransposons-based markers. Agronomy, 13: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010255 Haliloglu, K., Turkoglu, A., Tan, M., & Poczai, P. (2022) SSR-Based Molecular Identification, Population Structure Analysis for Forage Pea (Pisum sativum var. arvense L.) Landraces. Genes, 13(6): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13061086 Haussmann, B.I., Fred Rattunde, H., Weltzien‐Rattunde, E., Traoré P.S, Vom Brocke, K., & Parzies, H.K. (2012). Breeding strategies for adaptation of pearl millet, sorghum to climate variability, change in West Africa. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 198(5): 327-339. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-037X.2012.00526.x ,IGC (2022). International Grains Council. Jamali, A., Sohrabi, Y., Mardeh, AS., & Hoseinpanahi, F. (2020). Morphologically, yield responses of 20 genotypes of bread wheat to drought stress. Archives of Biological Sciences, 72(1): 71-79. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS191128001J Kalendar, R., Antonius, K., Smýkal, P., & Schulman, A.H. (2010). iPBS: a universal method for DNA fingerprinting, retrotransposon isolation. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 121:1419-1430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-010-1398-2 Kara, K., Kanouni, M., Debbabi, O., Naceur, M. (2017). Genetic diversity of bread wheat genotypes (Triticum aestivum L.) revealed by agromorphological characteristics, microsatellite SSR markers. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, 6(1): 178-181. Karkhaneh, A., Salari, H., Cheghamirza, K., & Zarei, L. (2025). Agronomic and molecular identification of drought-tolerant bread wheat varieties in Iran. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 44: 3039-3050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-024-11595-2 Kendal, E., Dogan, Y., Oral, E., & Koyuncu, M. (2019). Investigating the quality of durum wheat landraces, determination of parents to use in breeding programs. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 17: 6031-6049. https://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1703_60316049 Khatiwada, M. & Curtis, S. (2021). Precipitation trends in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin, South Asia: Inconsistency in Satellite-Based Products. Atmosphere, 12(9): 1-15. ttps://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12091155 Kizılgeci, F., Akıncı, C., Albayrak, Ö., Biçer, B. T., & Yıldırım, M. (2016). Evaluation of grain color and protein content in F5 durum wheat (Triticum durum desf.) populations. Dicle University Science Institute Journal, 5(2): 51-55. (Turkish with English Abstract) Kizılgeci, F., &Tebrizli, N. (2025). Evaluation of Drought Tolerance in Bread Wheat Using Stress Tolerance Indices. Osmaniye Korkut Ata University Journal of The Institute of Science and Techno., 8(4):1739–1751. (Turkish with English Abstract) https://doi.org/10.47495/okufbed.1642515 Kizilgeci, F., Bayhan, B., Turkoglu, A., Haliloglu, K., & Yildirim, M. (2022). Exploring genetic diversity, Population structure of five Aegilops species with inter-primer binding site (iPBS) markers. Molecular Biology Reports, 49: 8567-8574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-07689-3 Krishnappa, G., Tyagi, BS., Gupta, V., Gupta,A., Venkatesh, K., Kamble, UR., Singh, G., & Singh, G.P. (2022). Wheat breeding. Fundamentals of field crop breeding. edn. Springer, pp: 39-111. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9257-4_2 Martínez-Peña, R., Rezzouk, F.Z., del Carmen Díez-Fraile, M., Nieto-Taladriz, M.T., Araus, J.L., Aparicio, N., & Vicente, R. (2023). Genotype-by-environment interaction for grain yield, quality traits in durum wheat: Identification of ideotypes adapted to the Spanish region of Castile and León. European Journal of Agronomy, 151: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2023.126951 Miah, G., Rafii, M.Y., Ismail, M.R., Puteh, A.B., Rahim, H.A., Islam, K.N., & Latif, M.A. (2013). A review of microsatellite markers, their applications in rice breeding programs to improve blast disease resistance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 14(11): 22499-22528. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms141122499 Mohammadi, R. & Geravandi, M. (2024). Multi-trait selection for agronomic performance, drought tolerance among durum wheat genotypes evaluated under rainfed, irrigated environments. Experimental Agriculture 60: e3. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479723000273 Mohammadi, R., Jafarzadeh, J., Armion, M., Hatamzadeh, H., & Roohi, E. (2023). Clustering stability methods towards selecting best performing, stable durum wheat genotypes. Euphytica, 219(109): 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-023-03237-7 Mohammadi, S.A., & Prasanna, B. (2003). Analysis of genetic diversity in crop plants—salient statistical tools, considerations. Crop Science, 43(4): 1235-1248. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2003.1235 Mondal, R., Kumar, A., & Gnanesh, B.N. (2023). Crop germplasm: Current challenges, physiological-molecular perspective, advance strategies towards development of climate-resilient crops. Heliyon, 9(1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12973 Mursalova, J., Akparov, Z., Ojaghi, J., Eldarov, M., Belen, S., Gummadov, N., & Morgounov, A. (2015). Evaluation of drought tolerance of winter bread wheat genotypes underdrip irrigation, rain-fed conditions. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 39(5): 817-824. https://doi.org/10.3906/tar-1407-152 Mut Z, Kose O.D.E., & Akay, H. (2017). Determination of grain yield, quality traits of some bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties. Anatolian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 32(1): 85-95. (Turkish with English Abstract) https://doi.org/10.7161/omuanajas.288862 Ozkan, A., & Deniz, C. (2025). Effects of the change in wheat varieties as a result of the green revolution on culinary culture. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 24(2): 1068-1085. https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.1612977 Peng,J. , Xie, J., Gu, Y., Guo, H., Zhang, S., Huang, X., Luo, X., Qian, J., Liu, M., & Wan, X. (2024). Assessing population genetic structure, diversity, and their driving factors in Phoebe zhennan populations. BMC Plant Biology, 24(1091): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05810-1 Pour‐Aboughadareh, A., Yousefian, M., Moradkhani, H., Moghaddam Vahed, M., Poczai, P., & Siddique, K.H. (2019). IPASTIC: An online toolkit to estimate plant abiotic stress indices. Applications in Plant Sciences, 7(7): 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11278 Pretini, N., Vanzetti, L.S., Terrile I.I., Silva, P., Ferrari, G., & González, F.G. (2025). Enhancing wheat yields potential through the QTL QFFE. perg-5A, QFEm. perg-3A associated to spike fruiting efficiency: Insights from plot-level analysis. Field Crops Research, 322: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109721 Prevost, A., & Wilkinson, M. (1999). A new system of comparing PCR primers applied to ISSR fingerprinting of potato cultivars. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 98: 107-112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220051046 Pritchard, J.K., Stephens, M., & Donnelly, P. (2000). Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics, 155(2): 945-959. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/155.2.945 Rohlf, F. (2002). NTSYSpc: Numerical taxonomy system, ver. 2.1. Setauket, NY: Exeter Publishing Ltd. Rosielle, A., & Hamblin, J. (1981). Theoretical aspects of selection for yield in stress, non‐stress environment 1. Crop Science, 21(6): 943-946. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1981.0011183X002100060033x Schmidt, J.W. (2003). Drought resistance and wheat breeding. Paper No. 6974, Journal series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, USA. Sharma, P., Mehta, G., Shefali, Muthusamy, S.K., Singh, S.K., & Singh, G.P. (2021). Development, validation of heat-responsive candidate gene, miRNA gene based SSR markers to analysis genetic diversity in wheat for heat tolerance breeding. Molecular Biology Reports, 48: 381-393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-020-06059 Sobirov, F., Djabbarov, I., & Olimjonova, S. (2024). Aegilops tauschii genetic diversity using SSR markers and morphometric characters. SABRAO Journal of Breeding & Genetics, 56(6): 2237-2247. http://doi.org/10.54910/sabrao2024.56.6.6 Spitko, T., Nagy, Z., Zsubori, Z.T., Halmos, G., Banyai, J., & Marton, C.L. (2014). Effect of drought on yield components of maize hybrids (Zea mays L). A journal Devoted to Maize and Allied Species, 59(2): 161-169. Swarup, S., Cargill, E.J., Crosby, K., Flagel, L., Kniskern, J., & Glenn, K.C. (2021). Genetic diversity is indispensable for plant breeding to improve crops. Crop Science, 61(2): 839-852. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20377 Tahir, O., Bangash, S.A.K., Ibrahim, M., Shahab, S., Khattak, S.H., Ud Din, I., Khan, M.N., Hafeez, A., Wahab, S., & Ali, B. (2022). Evaluation of agronomic performance, genetic diversity analysis using simple sequence repeats markers in selected wheat lines. Sustainability, 15(1): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010293 Tatar, O., U. Cakalogullari, F. Aykut Tonk, D. Istipliler and R. Karakoc, (2020). Effect of drought stress on yield and quality traits of common wheat during grain filling stage, Turkish Journal of Field Crops. 25: 236-244. https://doi.org/10.17557/tjfc.834392 Tekdal, S., & Yildirim, M. (2015). Investigation of quality traits of some durum wheat varieties exposed to heat stress. Dicle University Science Institute Journal, 4(2): 68-76. (Turkish with English Abstract) Yalinkilic, N.A., Basbag, S., Altaf, M.T., Ali, A., Nadeem, M.A., & Baloch, F.S. (2024). Applicability of SCoT markers in unraveling genetic variation, population structure among sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) germplasm. Molecular Biology Reports, 51: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-09526-1 Yani, S.C. & Rashidi, V. (2012). Selection indices in the improvement of wheat grain yield on drought stress conditions. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 7(7): 1177-1183. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJAR11.1616 Yeh, F. (1999). Popgene. Microsoft Windows-based free software for population genetic analysis. Release 1.32. Yiğit, A. (2025). Influence of Anthesis Irrigation on Yield, Functional Quality and Antioxidant Properties of Durum Wheat. Turkish Journal of Field Crops, 25(2), 310-327. https://doi.org/10.17557/tjfc.1769533 Yildirim, M. (2013). The effect of water stress on spikelet position weight variation in wheat. Turkish Journal of Field Crops, 18(2): 144-150. Yildiz, E., Sumbul, A., Yaman, M., Nadeem, M.A., Say, A., Baloch, F.S., & Popescu, G.C. (2023). Assessing genetic diversity in hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) genotypes using morphological, phytochemical, molecular markers. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 70: 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-022-01414-6 Zeinalzadehtabrizi, H., Hosseinpour, A., Aydin, M., & Haliloglu, K. (2015). A modified genomic DNA extraction method from leaves of sunflower for PCR based analyzes. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES), 7(6): 222-225.