Screening \u3ci\u3eBrachiaria\u3c/i\u3e Introductions for Resistance to Spittlebugs (Homoptera: Cercopidae)

Spittlebugs are the most evident and damaging pests of Signal grasses (Brachiaria) in tropical America. Damage caused by these insects can result in the complete loss of available forage, thereby reducing the carrying capacity of infested pastures. Host plant resistance is a low-cost method of controlling insects. High level of spittlebug resistance is found in the cultivar Marandu (B. brizantha), but it requires more fertile soils. Brachiaria germplasm provided by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is available at National Beef Cattle Research Center of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Beef Cattle) and it is being screened for spittlebug resistance. In the present study, 23 introductions of Brachiaria were evaluated for resistance to the spittlebug Deois flavopicta, based on the parameters: nymphal survival and nymphal period. The introductions CIAT 16125 and CIAT 16309, both B. brizantha, were selected as resistant in this test. Given the great number of available introductions and hybrids, tests like this have been conducted routinely at Embrapa Beef Cattle. A total of 551 introductions and hybrids have already been screened in the past few years. As a result 40 introductions and 11 hybrids were found resistant. The aim of continuing evaluations is to release new spittlebug resistant Brachiaria cultivars

Genetic Mapping With Allele Dosage Information in Tetraploid Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R. D. Webster Reveals Insights Into Spittlebug (Notozulia entreriana Berg) Resistance

Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R. D. Webster is one of the most important African forage grasses in Brazilian beef production. Currently available genetic-genomic resources for this species are restricted mainly due to polyploidy and apomixis. Therefore, crucial genomic-molecular studies such as the construction of genetic maps and the mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) are very challenging and consequently affect the advancement of molecular breeding. The objectives of this work were to (i) construct an integrated U. decumbens genetic map for a full-sibling progeny using GBS-based markers with allele dosage information, (ii) detect QTLs for spittlebug (Notozulia entreriana) resistance, and (iii) seek putative candidate genes involved in defense against biotic stresses. We used the Setaria viridis genome a reference to align GBS reads and selected 4,240 high-quality SNP markers with allele dosage information. Of these markers, 1,000 were distributed throughout nine homologous groups with a cumulative map length of 1,335.09 cM and an average marker density of 1.33 cM. We detected QTLs for resistance to spittlebug, an important pasture insect pest, that explained between 4.66 and 6.24% of the phenotypic variation. These QTLs are in regions containing putative candidate genes related to defense against biotic stresses. Because this is the first genetic map with SNP autotetraploid dosage data and QTL detection in U. decumbens, it will be useful for future evolutionary studies, genome assembly, and other QTL analyses in Urochloa spp. Moreover, the results might facilitate the isolation of spittlebug-related candidate genes and help clarify the mechanism of spittlebug resistance. These approaches will improve selection efficiency and accuracy in U. decumbens molecular breeding and shorten the breeding cycle