Climatic effects on microsatellite diversity in wild emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccoides) at the Yehudiyya microsite, Israel

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Abstract
Microsatellite (SSR) diversity at 28 loci comprising seven types of tandem dinucleotide repeated motifs was analyzed in 105 individual plants of wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides, from a microsite in Yehudiyya, northeast of the Sea of Galilee, Israel. The study area was less than 1000 m2 and involved 12 paired plots distributed in a mosaic pattern. Each experiment involved very close (a few meters apart), but sharply divergent, microclimatic niches in the open park forest of Tabor oak: (1) sun, between trees, and (2) shade, under tree canopy. Significant microclimatic divergence characterized many loci displaying asymmetric and non-random distribution of repeat numbers. Niche-specific and niche-unique alleles and linkage disequilibria were found in the two sub-populations. Microsatellite diversity at both single- and two-locus levels is affected by microclimatic environment. The evidence reflects effects of ecological stresses and natural selection on SSR diversity, resulting presumably in adaptive structures.