Assessment of genetic variation of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) landraces from Morocco

In order to give useful information for more targeted conservation and valorization as well as more efficient use in breeding programs, and in the absence of any previous molecular characterization, we assessed the genetic diversity and population structure of 53 lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) landraces from different Moroccan origins using Short Sequence Repeat (SSR) and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) molecular markers. Moderate to high genetic diversity was observed within and between accessions. The statistical analyses performed highlighted different groups with contrasting sizes: a main group containing the largest number of landraces and a few groups with low numbers of landraces. Interestingly, one of the smallest groups only contained landraces from the dry Abda region. While the other small group contained one landrace collected from a small area in Zear region. The latter lentil is known for its excellent seed quality and was previously proposed to obtain the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) quality mark. Both SSR and AFLP markers allowed to set apart the latter landrace supporting the possibility of attributing a PDO for the benefit of local farmers. The landraces group from the dryland region may share closely related genetic material selected over years for drought and heat stress tolerance that could be used in breeding programs. Two other landraces from the medium Atlas Mountains may have been selected for cold tolerance. Specific adaptation of these landraces to their respective agro-environments and possible evolution into distinct ecotypes may be the reasons of their genetic differentiation compared to other landraces.