SNP matrices of the wild barley diversity collection WBDC
Cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) was domesticated from wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum) about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Domestication and intensive breeding have greatly narrowed the genetic diversity of the crop and rendered it vulnerable to various biotic (pathogens and pests) and abiotic (heat, drought, salinity cold, etc.) stresses. Wild barley is a rich source of genetic diversity for many traits and is fully compatible with the cultivated form. To make future gains in barley breeding and also mitigate current stresses, the genetic diversity of wild barley must be exploited. This Wild Barley Diversity Collection (WBDC) consists of accessions collected primarily from the Fertile Crescent, a region where diversity of the subspecies is the highest and large populations are common; however, representative samples were also included from Central Asia, South Central Asia, North Africa, and the Caucasus region. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) at 10x coverage depth was performed on 300 non-redundant accessions of the Wild Barley Diversity Collection (WBDC).