Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are ideally suited for the construction of high-resolution genetic maps, studying population evolutionary history and performing genome-wide association mapping experiments. Here, we used a genome-wide set of 1536 SNPs to study linkage disequilibrium (LD) and population structure in a panel of 478 spring and winter wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum) from 17 populations across the United States and Mexico.Results: Most of the wheat oligo pool assay (OPA) SNPs that were polymorphic within the complete set of 478 cultivars were also polymorphic in all subpopulations. Higher levels of genetic differentiation were observed among wheat lines within populations than among populations. A total of nine genetically distinct clusters were identified, suggesting that some of the pre-defined populations shared significant proportion of genetic ancestry. Estimates of population structure (F_ST) at individual loci showed a high level of heterogeneity across the genome. In addition, seven genomic regions with elevated F_STwere detected between the spring and winter wheat populations. Some of these regions overlapped with previously mapped flowering time QTL. Across all populations, the highest extent of significant LD was observed in the wheat D-genome, followed by lower LD in the A- and B-genomes. The differences in the extent of LD among populations and genomes were mostly driven by differences in long-range LD ( > 10 cM).Conclusions: Genome- and population-specific patterns of genetic differentiation and LD were discovered in the populations of wheat cultivars from different geographic regions. Our study demonstrated that the estimates of population structure between spring and winter wheat lines can identify genomic regions harboring candidate genes involved in the regulation of growth habit. Variation in LD suggests that breeding and selection had a different impact on each wheat genome both within and among populations. The higher extent of LD in the wheat D-genome versus the A- and B-genomes likely reflects the episodes of recent introgression and population bottleneck accompanying the origin of hexaploid wheat. The assessment of LD and population structure in this assembled panel of diverse lines provides critical information for the development of genetic resources for genome-wide association mapping of agronomically important traits in wheat.

Stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Eriks.) is a serious disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Resistance genes Yr5 and Yr15 are the only known all‐stage resistance genes that defeat all stripe rust races currently found in the United States. Previously mapped markers for these genes, however, show limited polymorphism across diverse genotypes and/or map at a distance from the genes, reducing the effectiveness of marker‐assisted selection. Our objective was to create new linkage maps for both genes using sequence tagged site (STS) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and to evaluate closely linked markers across a diverse panel of wheat genotypes. Two recombinant inbred populations created using Avocet‐Susceptible as a susceptible parent and Triticum aestivum L. ssp. spelta (L.) Thell. ‘Album’ and Triticum dicoccoides Koern. as the Yr5 and Yr15 donors, respectively, were evaluated for resistance to multiple races of stripe rust. Molecular markers that had been previously mapped to wheat chromosome 1B (Yr5) or 2B (Yr15) were mapped on the appropriate population. Markers most closely linked to each gene were evaluated against a panel of genotypes collected from active introgression programs in the United States. The Yr5 gene is flanked on the distal side by STS7/8 marker and by Xbarc349 and Xbarc167 on the proximal side, although none of these markers were diagnostic in all backgrounds. For Yr15, Xbarc8 and Xgwm413 appear to be completely linked with the gene in our population, along with resistance gene analog polymorphism marker Xwgp34. These two SSR markers also appear to be diagnostic in all backgrounds tested with one exception (Zak). We have developed linkage maps for both genes and identified several useful SSR and STS markers for introgression of Yr5 and Yr15