With an aim of enhancing drought tolerance using a marker‐assisted backcrossing (MABC) approach, we introgressed the “QTL‐hotspot” region from ICC 4958 accession that harbors quantitative trait loci ...(QTLs) for several drought‐tolerance related traits into three elite Indian chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars: Pusa 372, Pusa 362, and DCP 92‐3. Of eight simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in the QTL‐hotspot region, two to three polymorphic markers were used for foreground selection with respective cross‐combinations. A total of 47, 53, and 46 SSRs were used for background selection in case of introgression lines (ILs) developed in genetic backgrounds of Pusa 372, Pusa 362, and DCP 92‐3, respectively. In total, 61 ILs (20 BC3F3 in Pusa 372; 20 BC2F3 in Pusa 362, and 21 BC3F3 in DCP 92‐3), with >90% recurrent parent genome recovery were developed. Six improved lines in different genetic backgrounds (e.g. BGM 10216 in Pusa 372; BG 3097 and BG 4005 in Pusa 362; IPC(L4‐14), IPC(L4‐16), and IPC(L19‐1) in DCP 92‐3) showed better performance than their respective recurrent parents. BGM 10216, with 16% yield gain over Pusa 372, has been released as Pusa Chickpea 10216 by the Central Sub‐Committees on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties of Agricultural Crops, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, for commercial cultivation in India. In summary, this study reports introgression of the QTL‐hotspot for enhancing yield under rainfed conditions, development of several introgression lines, and release of Pusa Chickpea 10216 developed through molecular breeding in India.
Chickpea, being an important grain legume crop, is often confronted with the adverse effects of high temperatures at the reproductive stage of crop growth, drastically affecting yield and overall ...productivity. The current study deals with an extensive evaluation of chickpea genotypes, focusing on the traits associated with yield and their response to heat stress. Notably, we observed significant variations for these traits under both normal and high-temperature conditions, forming a robust basis for genetic research and breeding initiatives. Furthermore, the study revealed that yield-related traits exhibited high heritability, suggesting their potential suitability for marker-assisted selection. We carried out single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping using the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method for a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Overall, 27 marker-trait associations (MTAs) linked to yield-related traits, among which we identified five common MTAs displaying pleiotropic effects after applying a stringent Bonferroni-corrected p-value threshold of <0.05 -log
(p) > 4.95 using the BLINK (Bayesian-information and linkage-disequilibrium iteratively nested keyway) model. Through an in-depth
analysis of these markers against the CDC Frontier v1 reference genome, we discovered that the majority of the SNPs were located at or in proximity to gene-coding regions. We further explored candidate genes situated near these MTAs, shedding light on the molecular mechanisms governing heat stress tolerance and yield enhancement in chickpeas such as indole-3-acetic acid-amido synthetase GH3.1 with GH3 auxin-responsive promoter and pentatricopeptide repeat-containing protein, etc. The harvest index (HI) trait was associated with marker Ca3:37444451 encoding aspartic proteinase ortholog sequence of
subsp.
and
, which is known for contributing to heat stress tolerance. These identified MTAs and associated candidate genes may serve as valuable assets for breeding programs dedicated to tailoring chickpea varieties resilient to heat stress and climate change.
Susceptibility to drought stress has restrained chickpea productivity at a global level, and the development of drought-tolerant varieties is essential to maintain its productivity. Therefore, the ...present study was conducted to evaluate genetic divergence in selected genotypes of chickpea and their morpho-physiological responses under irrigated and stressed conditions to identify the traits that account for the better performance of these genotypes under stressed conditions, as well as genotypes with improved drought tolerance. The genotypes were evaluated for two years under irrigated and drought stressed conditions, and significant variation was found amongst the genotypes for different morpho-physiological and yield traits. The maximum reduction was observed for plant yield (33.23%) under stressed conditions. Principle component analysis (PCA)-based biplots and correlation studies established its strong positive correlation with relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll index (CI), secondary branches (SB) and yield traits and negative correlations with drought susceptibility index (DSI), days to maturity (DM) and 100 seed weight (100 SW) under drought stress, suggesting their use in selecting drought-tolerant germplasm. Ten genotypes with high values of RWC, MSI, CI, SB, yield traits and lower DSI were identified as drought-tolerant and might serve as ideal donors in the forthcoming breeding of elite chickpea cultivars. The seed-filling stage began earlier in these genotypes, with significantly reduced days to maturity under stressed conditions. Our results indicate selection for earliness offers a promising strategy for the development of drought-tolerant chickpea cultivars.
Identifying a congenially targeted production environment and understanding the effects of genotype by environmental interactions on the adaption of chickpea genotypes is essential for achieving an ...optimal yield stability. Different models like additive main effect and multiplicative interactions (AMMI 1, AMM2), weighted average absolute scores of BLUPs (WAASB), and genotype plus genotype–environment (GGE) interactions were used to understand their suitability in the precise estimation of variance and their interaction. Our experiment used genotypes that represent the West Asia–North Africa (WANA) region. This trial involved two different sowing dates, two distinct seasons, and three different locations, resulting in a total of 12 environments. Genotype IG 5871(G1) showed a lower heat susceptibility index (HSI) across environments under study. The first four interactions principal component axis (IPCA) explain 93.2% of variations with significant genotype–environment interactions. Considering the AMMI stability value (ASV), the genotypes IG5862(G7), IG5861(G6), ILC239(G40), IG6002(G26), and ILC1932(G39), showing ASV scores of 1.66, 1.80, 2.20, 2.60, and 2.84, respectively, were ranked as the most stable and are comparable to the weighted average absolute scores of BLUPs (WAASB) ranking of genotypes. The which–won–where pattern of genotype plus genotype–environment (GGE) interactions suggested that the target environment consists of one mega environment. IG5866(G10), IG5865(G9), IG5884(G14), and IG5862(G7) displayed higher stability, as they were nearer to the origin. The genotypes that exhibited a superior performance in the tested environments can serve as ideal parental lines for heat-stress tolerance breeding programs. The weighted average absolute scores of BLUPs (WAASB) serve as an ideal tool to discern the variations and identify the stable genotype among all methods.
Botrytis grey mould (BGM), caused by Botrytis cinerea, is emerging as an important disease of chickpea in the northern and eastern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, including Nepal, Bangladesh, ...Pakistan, and in Australia. This fungus has a very broad host range, and sources of complete resistance to the disease have not been found in Cicer arietinum L. germplasm. Resistance to this pathogen has been identified in some wild Cicer species. A set of 371 lines, including 164 landraces and 207 interspecific derivative lines (derived from crosses of cultivated chickpea with C. pinnatifidum, C. judaicum or C. reticulatum) have been screened against Botrytis grey mould under field conditions, and using the cut twig method at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, in 2015-16 and 2016—17. Strong correlations between the two screening methods were indicated by paired-t tests. The Bulked Sample Analysis (BSA) approach was used to screen DNA of the five most resistant and five most susceptible host lines using 300 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Eighty-eight markers were polymorphic. Chi-square statistic values showed strong correlations of TA144, GA102, TA194, TA140 and TR2 with the resistant bulks, signifying their usability as putative markers linked to BGM resistance, and for development of BGM tolerant genotypes in chickpea. Future studies should rapidly ascertain marker trait associations, and identify and develop diagnostic markers that provide an accurate method of molecular tagging BGM resistant genes in chickpea.
A molecular map of chickpea was constructed using F9:F10 recombinant inbred lines from an intraspecific cross between Fusarium wilt susceptible (JG 62) and resistant (WR 315) genotypes. A total of 23 ...markers with LOD scores of > 3.0 were mapped on the recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Twenty sequence tagged microsatellites (STMSs) and three amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) covered 300.2 cM in five linkage groups at an average inter-marker distance of 13 cM. Early and late wilting due to Fusarium infection was recorded in RILs at 30 and 60 DAS, respectively. There was a significant variation among RILs for wilt resistance for both early and late wilting. QTLs associated with early (30 days after sowing (DAS)) and late (60 DAS) wilting are located on LG II. The flanking markers for these QTLs were the same as those of previous reports. Five STMS markers located on LG II of reference map (interspecific) were mapped on LG II of the present map (intraspecific) with minor changes in the order of markers indicating the conservation of these genomic regions across the Cicer species.
Identifying a congenially targeted production environment and understanding the effects of genotype by environmental interactions on the adaption of chickpea genotypes is essential for achieving an ...optimal yield stability. Different models like additive main effect and multiplicative interactions (AMMI 1, AMM2), weighted average absolute scores of BLUPs (WAASB), and genotype plus genotype–environment (GGE) interactions were used to understand their suitability in the precise estimation of variance and their interaction. Our experiment used genotypes that represent the West Asia–North Africa (WANA) region. This trial involved two different sowing dates, two distinct seasons, and three different locations, resulting in a total of 12 environments. Genotype IG 5871(G1) showed a lower heat susceptibility index (HSI) across environments under study. The first four interactions principal component axis (IPCA) explain 93.2% of variations with significant genotype–environment interactions. Considering the AMMI stability value (ASV), the genotypes IG5862(G7), IG5861(G6), ILC239(G40), IG6002(G26), and ILC1932(G39), showing ASV scores of 1.66, 1.80, 2.20, 2.60, and 2.84, respectively, were ranked as the most stable and are comparable to the weighted average absolute scores of BLUPs (WAASB) ranking of genotypes. The which–won–where pattern of genotype plus genotype–environment (GGE) interactions suggested that the target environment consists of one mega environment. IG5866(G10), IG5865(G9), IG5884(G14), and IG5862(G7) displayed higher stability, as they were nearer to the origin. The genotypes that exhibited a superior performance in the tested environments can serve as ideal parental lines for heat-stress tolerance breeding programs. The weighted average absolute scores of BLUPs (WAASB) serve as an ideal tool to discern the variations and identify the stable genotype among all methods.
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