Microsatellite (SSR) markers were employed to investigate the genetic diversity within a collection of durum wheat germplasm. A total of 41 landraces originating from geographically diverse regions—including Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Ethiopia, China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia—were initially genotyped using 27 SSR markers selected to represent the whole genome. Of these, 7 markers failed to produce amplification products despite repeated attempts; therefore, 20 SSR markers were retained for further analysis. Among these, 17 loci were polymorphic and 3 were monomorphic. Analysis of the 17 polymorphic loci revealed a total of 67 alleles, with allele numbers per locus ranging from two to seven and an average of 3.94 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values varied from 0.071 (Xgwm371) to 0.647 (Xgwm120), indicating differences in marker informativeness. Cluster analysis grouped the landraces into four genetically distinct clusters, demonstrating a clear relationship between genetic variation and geographic origin. In general, landraces from Africa and Western Asia exhibited higher genetic diversity compared to those from Central and East Asia. These results highlight Western Asia, Africa, and particularly southeastern Turkey as important centers of genetic diversity for durum wheat.
