Inheritance of microsatellite alleles in pedigrees of Latvian barley varieties and related European ancestors.

Genetic diversity and inheritance of 65 microsatellite (SSR) loci were studied in a set of 37 barley varieties involved in the pedigrees of seven Latvian barley varieties: Abava, Agra, Balga, Imula, Linga, Priekulu 1 and Stendes. Cluster analysis divided all the varieties into two large groups according to their geographic distribution. Moravian, Swedish and Danish varieties clustered separately from varieties from Norway and Finland. The pattern of subgroups of both European and Latvian varieties was in accordance with their pedigree information. Graphical genotypes of microsatellite alleles of all seven barley chromosomes were determined for all the 37 varieties studied. Parental inheritance and transmission of microsatellite alleles through the generations of the pedigrees were analysed. The results confirmed the importance and informative value of microsatellite markers for genetic studies in barley and their utility for barley breeding and other applications in fundamental and applied barley genetics.