Genetic dissection of drought tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Rajeev K. Varshney(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Mahendar Thudi(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Spurthi N. Nayak(University of Florida), Pooran M. Gaur(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Junichi Kashiwagi(Hokkaido University), L. Krishnamurthy(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Deepa Jaganathan(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Jahnavi Koppolu(Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research), Abhishek Bohra(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Shailesh Tripathi(Indian Agricultural Research Institute), Abhishek Rathore(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Aravind Kumar Jukanti(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), V. Jayalakshmi(Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University), Anilkumar Vemula(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), S. J. Singh, Mohammad Yasin, M. S. Sheshshayee(University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore), K. P. Viswanatha(University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore)
Theoretical and Applied Genetics
December 10, 2013
10.1007/s00122-013-2230-6
Cited by 414Open Access
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Abstract

KEY MESSAGE: Analysis of phenotypic data for 20 drought tolerance traits in 1-7 seasons at 1-5 locations together with genetic mapping data for two mapping populations provided 9 QTL clusters of which one present on CaLG04 has a high potential to enhance drought tolerance in chickpea improvement. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second most important grain legume cultivated by resource poor farmers in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Drought is one of the major constraints leading up to 50% production losses in chickpea. In order to dissect the complex nature of drought tolerance and to use genomics tools for enhancing yield of chickpea under drought conditions, two mapping populations-ICCRIL03 (ICC 4958 × ICC 1882) and ICCRIL04 (ICC 283 × ICC 8261) segregating for drought tolerance-related root traits were phenotyped for a total of 20 drought component traits in 1-7 seasons at 1-5 locations in India. Individual genetic maps comprising 241 loci and 168 loci for ICCRIL03 and ICCRIL04, respectively, and a consensus genetic map comprising 352 loci were constructed ( http://cmap.icrisat.ac.in/cmap/sm/cp/varshney/). Analysis of extensive genotypic and precise phenotypic data revealed 45 robust main-effect QTLs (M-QTLs) explaining up to 58.20% phenotypic variation and 973 epistatic QTLs (E-QTLs) explaining up to 92.19% phenotypic variation for several target traits. Nine QTL clusters containing QTLs for several drought tolerance traits have been identified that can be targeted for molecular breeding. Among these clusters, one cluster harboring 48% robust M-QTLs for 12 traits and explaining about 58.20% phenotypic variation present on CaLG04 has been referred as "QTL-hotspot". This genomic region contains seven SSR markers (ICCM0249, NCPGR127, TAA170, NCPGR21, TR11, GA24 and STMS11). Introgression of this region into elite cultivars is expected to enhance drought tolerance in chickpea.

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