Genetic diversity is one of the main resources sustaining human life. Food security largely depends on the availability and utilization of this diversity, which is of strategic importance for countries and companies. Conservation and utilization of biodiversity is thus currently an urgent area of global debate and concern.

Barley is a major crop in the world used for food, feed and malt, and with a wide religious and ethnic importance. The crop was domesticated in Neolithic time in SW Asia and spread rapidly under cultivation to new areas. Nowadays it is one of the most widespread and...