Identification and mapping of QTLs conferring resistance to ascochyta blight in chickpea

Ascochyta blight, caused by Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Lab., is a devastating disease of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) worldwide. Resistant germplasm has been identified and the genetics of resistance has been the subject of numerous studies. The objectives of the present study were to determine the genetics of resistance to ascochyta blight of chickpea and to map and tag the chromosomal regions involved using molecular markers. We used a set of 142 F5:6 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) obtained from an interspecific cross of C. arietinum (FLIP84-92C, resistant parent) X C. reticulatum Lad. (PI 599072, susceptible parent). The RILs were scored for disease reactions in the field over 2 yr and were genotyped for polymorphic molecular markers [isozyme, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR)] in the laboratory. The disease was scored quantitatively and data were used for QTL analysis. A linkage map was established that comprised nine linkage groups containing 116 markers covering a map distance of 981.6 centimorgans (cM) with an average distance of 8.4 cM between markers. Two quantitative trait loci (QTLs), QTL-1 and QTL-2, conferring resistance to ascochyta blight, were identified which accounted for 50.3 and 45.0% of the estimated phenotypic variation in 1997 and 1998, respectively, and were mapped to linkage groups 6 and 1, respectively. Two RAPD markers flanked QTL-1 and were 10.9 cM apart while one ISSR marker and an isozyme marker flanked QTL-2 and were 5.9 cM apart. These markers can be used for marker-assisted selection for ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea breeding programs, and to develop durable resistant cultivars through gene pyramiding.