Evaluation of a RAPD marker linked to Ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea

Abstract

Ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei is a devastating disease of chickpea. Development of resistant cultivars is the most efficient and cost effective control method. The present study was undertaken to determine the inheritance and to identify molecular markers linked to the resistance gene to Ascochyta blight. A F2 derived F3 family developed from a cross of P 1279-2- 1 and ICCV6-3 was inoculated with Ascochyta blight spores to classify the families in to resistant, segregating and susceptible groups. RAPD primers were screened on DNA samples of resistant and susceptible bulks. The RAPD marker, OPH-04680, was tightly linked to a gene for resistance. Three breeding lines (95470, S95425 and 92117-25D) exhibited absence of the marker, OPH-04680, indicating that the r,,l gene responsible for Ascochyta resistance could be present in these lines.