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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(7)

Ecogeographical studies identify diversity and potential gaps in the largest germplasm collection of bladder clover (Trifolium spumosum L.)

K. Ghamkhar A D , R. Snowball B and S. J. Bennett C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

B Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 3 Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, WA 6151, Australia.

C CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: kioumars@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58(7) 728-738 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR06359
Submitted: 15 November 2006  Accepted: 19 April 2007   Published: 26 July 2007

Abstract

Plant germplasm collections are important reservoirs of diversity for plant breeders and adding to the knowledge of the diversity among and within germplasm accessions helps plant breeders to use them more efficiently. The annual legume, bladder clover (Trifolium spumosum L.), was the model plant in this study. The hypothesis that ecogeographical variables are important sources of diversity in the germplasm collection of bladder clover and some variables are more important than others has been studied. Three themes have been addressed here: firstly, analysis of the existing passport data to determine a minimum set of ecogeographical descriptors required for capturing ecological aspects of each collection site; secondly, illustration of the ecogeographical regions and subregions using GIS techniques to identify areas with the greatest likelihood of filling gaps in the collection; thirdly, development of an approach for the evaluation of genetic diversity by grouping accessions with a focus on outliers within the collection using principal component and cluster analyses. In this paper the importance of longitude as a geographical factor has been documented and the overall ecogeographical diversity in the germplasm collection of bladder clover has been screened.

Additional keywords: collection gap identification, flora, geographical information systems, Mediterranean region, multivariate analysis.


Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australia, for funding this study. Thanks also to the staff of the Australian Trifolium Genetic Resource Centre (ATGRC), who maintain the passport and collection site database. Germplasm collectors who are the originators of these data are also gratefully acknowledged.


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