Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum (Desf.) Husn., a tetraploid species, is an important staple food mainly used for pasta and bread making in Europe and North Africa. It represents only approximately 8% of wheat production worldwide, 90% of which is produced in the Mediterranean region (Ammar et al. 2000). It is widely accepted that durum wheat was introduced into North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula from the south of Italy (MacKey 2005). However, recent findings based on the genetic similarities between landraces from the Maghreb countries and those from Spain and Portugal have suggested North Africa was an additional route for the introduction of wheat into the Iberian Peninsula (Moragues et al. 2006, 2007).

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