POLYMORPHISM IN WILD BARLEY (HORDEUM-SPON TANEUM K) POPULATIONS FROM TURKMENISTAN

Starch gel electrophoresis was used to study intra- and interpopulatio n genetic diversity in Hordeum spontaneum K., the wild progenitor of c ultivated barley. Sixteen loci, controlling nine water-soluble protein systems, were analyzed in more than 500 plants representing 27 popula tions of H. spontaneum from 11 ecogeographic zones. Electrophoretic st udy of 10-day seedlings revealed high genetic variability in wild barl ey. Shannon's information index and Nei's genetic diversity index were used to study structure and level of genetic variability in wild popu lations of H. spontaneum from Turkmenistan. The results were the follo wing: (1) Nei's genetic diversity index was 0.084; (2) the mean geneti c distance between populations was 0.066 and was not related to geogra phic distance; and (3) Shannon's information index showed that 52.68% of diversity is determined by intrapopulation variability, 22.20% by i nterpopulation variability within a geographic-climatic group, and 25. 11% by interpopulation variability between different zones. The result s obtained are compared with published data on wild barley populations from the eastern Mediterranean region.