Screening for powdery mildew (Erysiphe pisi D.C.) resistance gene-linked SCAR and SSR markers in five breeding lines of Pisum sativum L.

Abstract

SummaryA major disease in garden pea (Pisum sativum var. hortense) is powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi. Homozygous recessive alleles of the er1 and er2 genes, and the dominant allele of Er3 have been found to contribute to powdery mildew resistance in pea. Nine parental genotypes used for pea breeding in India were screened using 12 sequence characterised amplified region (SCAR) markers and five simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. None of the SCAR markers could differentiate between the resistant or susceptible genotypes, although they amplified at the specific loci previously reported. The SSR marker A5 clearly distinguished the homozygous resistant and susceptible parents and three F2 progeny from crosses of ‘Arka Priya’ × 'IP-3’, ‘Arka Pramod’ × ‘IP-3’, and ‘Arka Ajit’ בAzad-Pea’. Chisquare analysis showed a 1:3 phenotypic segregation pattern and a genotypic ratio of 1:2:1 for the SSR marker A5. Since SSR A5 is a co-dominant marker, it distinguished the clear homozygous (Er1Er1/er1er1) and heterozygous Er1er1) allelic conditions of er1 at the F2 progeny level. The SSR marker A5 can therefore be used for marker assisted breeding for powdery mildew resistance in pea.