Browsing by Author "Ulker, Mehmet"

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Estimation of Nuclear Dna Content in Some Aegilops Species: Best Analyzed Using Flow Cytometry
(Mdpi, 2022) Najafi, Solmaz; Ulker, Mehmet; Oral, Erol; Tuncturk, Ruveyde; Tuncturk, Murat; Sayyed, R. Z.; Cseh, Andras
The genera Triticum and Aegilops have been considered as the main gene pool of wheat due to their features, such as tolerance of all types of abiotic and biotic stresses. This study was conducted to evaluate the cytogenetic analyses in 115 native and wild populations from eleven Aegilops species using their nuclear DNA quantification. Mean 2C nuclear DNA contents of different ploidy levels in the wild wheat of Turkey and Iran were measured using the flow cytometry technique. The obtained results showed that the mean nuclear DNA content in diploid species varied from 10.09 pg/2C (Ae. umbellulata) to 10.95 pg/2C (Ae. speltoides var. ligustica) in Turkey. In Iranian diploids, the mean nuclear DNA content varied from 10.20 pg/2C (Ae. taushii) to 11.56 pg/2C (Ae. speltoides var. ligustica). This index in the tetraploid species of Turkey varied from 18.09 pg/2C (Ae. cylindrica) to 21.65 pg/2C (Ae. triaristata), and in Iranian species, it was from 18.61 pg/2C (Ae. cylindrica) to 21.75 pg/2C (Ae. columnaris). On the other hand, in the hexaploid species of Turkey, this index varied from 31.59 pg/2C (Ae. crassa) to 31.81 pg/2C (Ae. cylindrica); in the Iranian species, it varied from 32.58 pg/2C (Ae. cylindrica) to 33.97 pg/2C (Ae. crassa). There was a significant difference in the DNA content of Turkey and Iran diploid as well as tetraploid species; however, in hexaploid species, the difference was not significant. It was concluded that the variation in intraspecific genome size was very low in diploid and tetraploid populations; this means that the low variation is not dependent on geographic and climatic parameters. On the other hand, the interspecific variation is significant at the diploid and tetraploid populations. It is generally very difficult to distinguish Aegilops species from each other in natural conditions; meanwhile, in this study, all species could be, easily, quickly and unambiguously, distinguished and separated using the FCM technique.
Identifying Amf-Rich Tir Wheat Rhizospheres To Foster Microbial Inoculants Useful in Sustainable Agriculture: Evidence From the Van Lake Basin
(Mdpi, 2025) Najafi, Solmaz; Ulker, Mehmet; Danesh, Younes Rezaee; Demir, Semra; Oral, Erol; Altuner, Fevzi; Pellegrini, Marika
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a pivotal role in sustainable agriculture by enhancing nutrient efficiency and reducing the dependence on synthetic fertilizers. Developing these sustainable, effective products requires knowledge of the target plant and its associated microbial communities in the production landscape of interest. This study focused on AMF populations associated with Tir wheat in six main locations of T & uuml;rkiye's Van Lake Basin. The Er & ccedil;ek-& Ouml;zalp-Saray region exhibited the highest organic matter values. Higher available phosphorous contents were found for Erci & scedil;-Patnos and Muradiye. The Erci & scedil;-Patnos region exhibited the highest AMF density (120 spores/10 g soil) and frequency (75%), while the lowest AMF density (45 spores/10 g soil) was recorded in Muradiye. Sand contents correlated positively with spore number and mycorrhizal frequency and negatively with silt and clay. Based on these results, Erci & scedil;-Patnos was elected as the best location for the isolation of AMF spores suitable for the development of microbial-based tools for Tir wheat cultivation. These results are very important in the current context of climate change, which mandates the use of low-impact environmental strategies. Further research should explore the interactions of AMFs with other microorganisms to optimize their ecological benefits. However, the results of this study provide a valuable basis for future investigations of AMF-based products for use in sustainable Tir wheat cultivation.
Multidimensional Scaling Analysis of Morphological Spike Traits in Local Wheat Genotypes from the Van Lake Basin
(MDPI, 2025) Altuner, Fevzi; Jamal-Salih, Sana; Ozdemir, Burak; Oral, Erol; Mendes, Mehmet; Ulker, Mehmet; Pace, Loretta
Wheat landraces are considered a valuable resource of potential phenotypic variation that could be used in germplasm improvement. Here, we examined 588 local wheat genotypes collected from farmers' fields at 127 locations around Van Lake Basin and evaluated the morphological diversity and trait associations using Multidimensional Scaling Analysis. Spike and yield traits were measured and scored according to the UPOV and ICARDA phenotypic characterization criteria. Multidimensional Scaling Analysis divided the wheat samples into four main groups based on the number of spikelets (NOS), number of fertile spikelets (NFS), thousand-grain weight (TGW), and number of seeds per spike (NSS) and indicated a strong correlation between NOS and NFS. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the glume and awn color of most of the genotypes was black, and they were within the locally known Karak & imath;l & ccedil;& imath;k group. Only two genotypes were excluded from the Karak & imath;l & ccedil;& imath;k group; No. 231 was within the Geverik local wheat group, and genotype No. 579 was found to be Tir. The Hevidik and Kirik groups had the same spike color, but the Hevidik group had spikes similar to compactum wheat, whereas the Kirik group had larger spikes. Finally, genotype No. 57 varied from all other genotypes when all the measured traits were taken into consideration. Overall, the Van Lake Basin landraces combine broad similarity with meaningful phenotypic heterogeneity shaped by local environments and traditional on-farm selection. These findings provide practical cues for conservation efforts and for the use of landraces as valuable resources in future wheat breeding programs.
Potential of SEM and Deep Learning in Archaeobotanical Identification of Ancient Wheat Varieties
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2025) Anagun, Yildiray; Isik, Sahin; Olgun, Murat; Ulker, Mehmet; Koyuncu, Onur; Dikmen, Gokhan; Biber, Hanifi
This study investigated the morphological similarity between bread wheat landraces from the Van Lake Basin and ancient Urartian wheat seeds (9th century BCE) discovered at & Ccedil;avu & scedil;tepe Fortress, utilising a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based framework. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) datasets were created using 15 lines from 10 landraces and the ancient seeds; EfficientNetB0, ResNet18 and InceptionResNetV2 models were employed to extract discriminative surface texture features. The ancient wheat samples showed the highest surface-texture similarity to the Muradiye-1-1 line (Red Kirik wheat) across the tested models (39.8% to 44.1%). These results suggest a phenotypic convergence between ancient and modern landraces under similar agroecological conditions, demonstrating the utility of CNN models for archaeobotanical analysis.