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.