Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Biotechnology

production throughout the world, and is increasing particularly in the irrigated agricultural areas as is the case in Egypt. Approximately, 33% of the irrigated land in Egypt is salt affected. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important grain legume that plays a significant role in the nutrition of the poor in the developing world. In this research, we used rich chickpea diversity panel collected from the GeneBank of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (ICARDA). This collection was selected by using the focused identification of germplasm strategy (FIGS). DNA of this core collection was extracted for molecular characterization using 16 SSR and 3 ISSR polymorphic markers. Association mapping was conducted by using Single-Locus-F test. The results indicated significant differences between the chickpea genotypes. Based on the average between the two locations, seven genotypes IGs (70275, 70249, 70351, 70782, 8447, 70330, 9434 and 70309) have been identified as tolerant genotypes. Association mapping indicated that SSR marker TAA170 was associated with salinity tolerance (P = 0.006201848). The results indicated that SSR marker TAA170 is close to the acidic endochitinase-like protein gene which is thought to be responsible for the salinity stress tolerance. This marker could be a candidate for marker assisted selection in chickpea

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