Assessment of genetic diversity of Siberian wild rye (Elymus sibiricus L.) germplasms with variation of seed shattering and implication for future genetic improvement

• We detect the genetic diversity and variation of 24 Elymus sibiricus accessions indigenous to northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
• We measure the seed shattering of 24 accessions.
• Increasing genetic information will be helpful to E. sibiricus germplasm collection, conservation and utility.

Siberian wild rye (Elymus sibiricus L.) is an important native grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. The genetic diversity within and among 24 E. sibiricus accessions, cultivars and breeding lines were analyzed using EST-SSR markers. In total, 160 bands were generated from 30 EST-SSR markers, 143 bands of which were polymorphic with the percentage of polymorphic loci (PPB) of 89.4% at the species level. The PPB within accessions ranged from 2.5 to 56.3%, indicating high level of genetic diversity consistent with the variability observed in seed shattering (21.3–56.1%). Larger genetic variation was found within accessions (52.0%) and geographical regions (73.3%) compared to between accessions and regions. These results will facilitate germplasm collection, conservation and future genetic improvement for this species.