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Title: Two CAPS markers predict Verticillium wilt resistance in wild Solanum species

Author
item URIBE, PEDRO - University Of Wisconsin
item Jansky, Shelley
item Halterman, Dennis

Submitted to: Molecular Breeding
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/16/2013
Publication Date: 2/1/2014
Citation: Uribe, P., Jansky, S.H., Halterman, D.A. 2014. Two CAPS markers predict Verticillium wilt resistance in wild Solanum species. Molecular Breeding. 33(2):465-476.

Interpretive Summary: Verticillium wilt of potato is a widespread disease that results in yield loss. It is a soil-borne pathogen that is difficult to control. Very little resistance to the disease is present within cultivated potato varieties. Therefore, control of the disease is currently reliant on the application of fumigants before planting, which is costly and environmentally unfriendly. We have identified a region of the potato genome that is associated with resistance to Verticillium wilt. In order for breeders to track this resistance within breeding populations, we have developed a marker that is associated with resistance that can be used instead of determining the resistance phenotypes of populations in the field. The results of this work will impact the development of Verticillium resistant cultivars by not only providing resistant parental germplasm but also a rapid way to predict whether progeny will be resistant.

Technical Abstract: Verticillium wilt of potato is a persistent problem across several production areas of the United States. The disease, which is caused primarily by the fungus Verticillium dahliae is difficult to manage, causes yield losses and contaminates the soils for subsequent plantings. Control strategies based on host resistance are seen as long term, stable solutions, but difficult to achieve given the genetic nature of the host. To provide breeders with marker assisted selection alternatives for this disease, we generated a molecular marker on the coding region of Ve2, a potato gene with homology to the tomato Ve2 gene that confers resistance to V. dahliae. The position for the marker was determined according to the consensus sequences of Ve2 homologs of wild Solanum species that were screened for resistance or susceptibility to the pathogen. Experimentation leading to the development of the marker and tests of its usefulness against a wide range of Solanum tuberosum diploid and tetraploid material are presented here.