Abstract
Resistant crop cultivars provide the most economical, practical and sustainable method of Striga control. However, the development of resistant sorghum cultivars slowed by the complexity of the environment and the host/parasite interactions, which made field resistance erratic and unreliable. Recent adventure of molecular markers to tag gene(s) that confer important traits offers new hope for Striga control. Significant progress has been made to identify molecular markers linked to Striga resistance in sorghum variety, N13. Five genomic regions (QTLs) associated with Striga resistance were identified. Flanking simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers to each QTL were also identified and made available. The aim of this study was to transfer Striga resistance from, N13 to an elite farmer preferred sorghum cultivar, Tabat. Generations of F1, BC1F1, BC1S1 and BC2F1 populations were developed. F1 and BC1F1 generations were first genotyped and progenies with two or more QTLs were backcrossed to generate BC1F1 and BC2F1, respectively. BC2F1 were further genotyped and progenies with two different QTLs were intercrossed for foreground selection. BC2F1 progenies were selfed to generate BC2S1, BC2S2 population. 19 progenies, BC1S1, with Striga resistance QTLs were tested in Striga artificial infested plots. Progenies with the two or more QTLs showed high levels of Striga field resistance, confirming the effectiveness of marker assisted selection (MAS). Significant differences were observed among the progeny tested in the level of Striga resistance and other agronomical traits.
Highlights
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench, 2n = 20] is one of the most important cereal crops and well adapted to harsh environments characterized by drought and high temperatures
The presence of the regions, QTLs, in association with Striga resistance is detected through the presence or absence of the associated polymorphic flanking markers
Indicating the presence of at least one region associated with Striga resistance in these progenies. 18 of the progenies showed the presence of the QTLs, flanking markers in heterozygous status
Summary
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench, 2n = 20] is one of the most important cereal crops and well adapted to harsh environments characterized by drought and high temperatures. It was first domesticated in the region of North East Africa (Doggett, 1988). The witch-weed (Striga spp.), an obligate root parasite of various crops, is the major constrain to sorghum production in rain-fed areas of semi-arid tropics (Ejeta, 1992). The parasite result a considerable crop damages, especially in the semi arid-tropic of the world (Rich, et al, 2004). Losses in crop yield due to Striga infestation are estimated in millions of tones annually (Olivier, 1995). In Sorghum yield, losses may reach 100% on heavily infested soils (Parker and Riches, 1993)
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