Large-scale development of cost-effective SNP marker assays for diversity assessment and genetic mapping in chickpea and comparative mapping in legumes

A set of 2486 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were compiled in chickpea using four approaches, namely (i) Solexa/Illumina sequencing (1409), (ii) amplicon sequencing of tentative orthologous genes (TOGs) (604), (iii) mining of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) (286) and (iv) sequencing of candidate genes (187). Conversion of these SNPs to the cost-effective and flexible throughput Competitive Allele Specific PCR (KASPar) assays generated successful assays for 2005 SNPs. These marker assays have been designated as Chickpea KASPar Assay Markers (CKAMs). Screening of 70 genotypes including 58 diverse chickpea accessions and 12 BC3F2 lines showed 1341 CKAMs as being polymorphic. Genetic analysis of these data clustered chickpea accessions based on geographical origin. Genotyping data generated for 671 CKAMs on the reference mapping population (Cicer arietinum ICC 4958 × Cicer reticulatum PI 489777) were compiled with 317 unpublished TOG-SNPs and 396 published markers for developing the genetic map. As a result, a second-generation genetic map comprising 1328 marker loci including novel 625 CKAMs, 314 TOG-SNPs and 389 published marker loci with an average inter-marker distance of 0.59 cM was constructed. Detailed analyses of 1064 mapped loci of this second-generation chickpea genetic map showed a higher degree of synteny with genome of Medicago truncatula, followed by Glycine max, Lotus japonicus and least with Vigna unguiculata. Development of these cost-effective CKAMs for SNP genotyping will be useful not only for genetics research and breeding applications in chickpea, but also for utilizing genome information from other sequenced or model legumes

Development and characterization of BAC-end sequence derived SSRs, and their incorporation into a new higher density genetic map for cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important crop worldwide, valued for its edible oil and digestible protein. It has a very narrow genetic base that may well derive from a relatively recent single polyploidization event. Accordingly molecular markers have low levels of polymorphism and the number of polymorphic molecular markers available for cultivated peanut is still limiting

Large-Scale Development of Cost-Effective Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Marker Assays for Genetic Mapping in Pigeonpea and Comparative Mapping in Legumes

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, >2000) were discovered by using RNA-seq and allele-specific sequencing approaches in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan). For making the SNP genotyping cost-effective, successful competitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (KASPar) assays were developed for 1616 SNPs and referred to as PKAMs (pigeonpea KASPar assay markers). Screening of PKAMs on 24 genotypes [23 from cultivated species and 1 wild species (Cajanus scarabaeoides)] defined a set of 1154 polymorphic markers (77.4%) with a polymorphism information content (PIC) value from 0.04 to 0.38. One thousand and ninety-four PKAMs showed polymorphisms between parental lines of the reference mapping population (C. cajan ICP 28 × C. scarabaeoides ICPW 94). By using high-quality marker genotyping data on 167 F2 lines from the population, a comprehensive genetic map comprising 875 PKAMs with an average inter-marker distance of 1.11 cM was developed. Previously mapped 35 simple sequence repeat markers were integrated into the PKAM map and an integrated genetic map of 996.21 cM was constructed. Mapped PKAMs showed a higher degree of synteny with the genome of Glycine max followed by Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus and least with Vigna unguiculata. These PKAMs will be useful for genetics research and breeding applications in pigeonpea and for utilizing genome information from other legume species

Ethylene supports colonization of plant roots by the mutualistic fungus Piriformospora indica

The mutualistic basidiomycete Piriformospora indica colonizes roots of mono- and dicotyledonous plants, and thereby improves plant health and yield. Given the capability of P. indica to colonize a broad range of hosts, it must be anticipated that the fungus has evolved efficient strategies to overcome plant immunity and to establish a proper environment for nutrient acquisition and reproduction. Global gene expression studies in barley identified various ethylene synthesis and signaling components that were differentially regulated in P. indica-colonized roots. Based on these findings we examined the impact of ethylene in the symbiotic association. The data presented here suggest that P. indica induces ethylene synthesis in barley and Arabidopsis roots during colonization. Moreover, impaired ethylene signaling resulted in reduced root colonization, Arabidopsis mutants exhibiting constitutive ethylene signaling, -synthesis or ethylene-related defense were hyper-susceptible to P. indica. Our data suggest that ethylene signaling is required for symbiotic root colonization by P. indica

Candidate gene analysis for determinacy in pigeonpea (Cajanus spp.)

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is the sixth most important legume crop grown on ~5 million hectares globally. Determinacy is an agronomically important trait selected during pigeonpea domestication. In the present study, seven genes related to determinacy/flowering pattern in pigeonpea were isolated through a comparative genomics approach. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of these candidate genes on 142 pigeonpea lines found a strong association of SNPs with the determinacy trait for three of the genes. Subsequently, QTL analysis highlighted one gene, CcTFL1, as a likely candidate for determinacy in pigeonpea since it explained 45–96 % of phenotypic variation for determinacy, 45 % for flowering time and 77 % for plant height. Comparative genomics analysis of CcTFL1 with the soybean (Glycine max) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) genomes at the micro-syntenic level further enhanced our confidence in CcTFL1 as a likely candidate gene. These findings have been validated by expression analysis that showed down regulation of CcTFL1 in a determinate line in comparison to an indeterminate line. Gene-based markers developed in the present study will allow faster manipulation of the determinacy trait in future breeding programs of pigeonpea and will also help in the development of markers for these traits in other related legume species