Proceedings of the XLV Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy - 26/29 September, 2001

ISBN 88-900622-1-5

Poster Abstract

TOWARDS AN INTERSPECIFIC GENETIC MAP BETWEEN EGGPLANT AND ITS WILD RELATED SPECIES SOLANUM SODOMEUM L. BASED ON RAPD MARKERS

PORRECA P.*, MARTELLI G.*, ROTINO G.L.**, ACCIARRI N.***, VALENTINO D.****, TAMIETTI G.****, SUNSERI F.*

* Dip. Biologia, Difesa, Biotecnologie AgroForestali, Università della Basilicata, C.da Macchia Romana, 85100 Potenza

sunseri@unibas.it

** Istituto Sperimentale per l’Orticoltura, Sezione di Montanaso Lombardo (LO)

*** Sezione di Monsampolo del Tronto (AP)

**** DI.VA.P.R.A. Università di Torino

Solanum melongena L., Verticillium tolerance, marker assisted selection (MAS)

A preliminary linkage map of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) have been constructed using an F₂ population derived from a cross between the eggplant cv. Buia and an accession of Solanum sodomeum L. (2n=24) from Sicily.

This interspecific population was utilized because S. sodomeum possess partial resistance to Verticillium wilt and consequently it was used as source of resistance. Fungal wilt of eggplant, caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb, is one of the most serious diseases in tropical and temperate areas and it is an limiting factor in the production of the crop. Resistance/tolerance to the wilt varies among eggplant cultivars. Some cultivars have been used as sources of resistance in breeding programs but none has sufficiently high resistance under field conditions.

In this study interspecific hybrids were selfed and backcrossed using different types of eggplant either to obtain lines with improved tolerance to V. dahliae or in order to identify molecular markers linked to Verticillium tolerance. Parental lines and the segregating populations (48 F₂ plants) were screened with 45 random primers 10bp to detect polimorphisms by RAPD markers. A preliminary linkage map (Joinmap, version 1.3) consisted of 108 RAPD markers that identified 13 linkage groups including at least 5 to 30 markers.

The selection activity is still in progress and based on the response to both artificial and natural infection with Verticillium. Although a consistent increment in the average field tolerance was achieved after three selection cycles, a decrease in the tolerance to V. dahliae was also evidenced in the advanced backcrossed progenies. Therefore, molecular markers mapped and associated with the tolerance could be useful to perform marker assisted selection on interspecific segregating populations and to improve the efficiency of our breeding program.