Location: Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research
Project Number: 2090-21000-035-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Mar 20, 2018
End Date: Mar 3, 2019
Objective:
The overall goal of this project is to develop improved alfalfa breeding strategies, germplasm, and molecular tools to enhance resistance to disease and abiotic stress. The desired outcomes are molecular markers and high throughput strategies that can be used in marker-assisted breeding to develop improved alfalfa varieties with resistance to disease and abiotic stress to increase alfalfa production and reduce costs.
To achieve the long-term goal, the research for the next 5 years will focus on two objectives:
Objective 1: Identify molecular markers in alfalfa associated with resistance to,
Ditylenchus dipsaci (alfalfa stem nematode), and Verticillium albo-atrum
(Verticillium wilt).
Objective 2: Identify alfalfa molecular markers and germplasm associated with
drought tolerance and increased water use efficiency, as evaluated by biomass yield under a deficit irrigation gradient.
Approach:
Objective 1: Identify molecular markers in alfalfa associated with resistance to,
Ditylenchus dipsaci (alfalfa stem nematode), and Verticillium albo-atrum
(Verticillium wilt).
Approach 1: Two segregating populations were used for mapping pest resistance loci. Penotyping will be conducted by industrial collaborators. Genotyping and will be conducted by ARS-Prosser using GBS. Raw sequence data will be filtered to remove sequencing errors. The filtered sequence reads will be aligned to M. truncatula genome. The sequence tags and SNPs will be identified using the UNEAK pipeline. GBS tags will be mapped and HapMap containing SNP sites will be used for genome-wide association analysis using TASSEL. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) between markers will be assessed by calculation of r2 between markers, Significant SNP markers linked to the resistance loci identified will be validated in various breeding populations provided by the collaborators.
Contingencies: If the development of a mapping population for SN fails, we will use breeding lines segregating for resistance to SN for BSA. This will allow us to identify the resistance trait. If the marker cosegregates between the resistant and susceptible lines, validation will then be expanded to various breeding populations and varieties as described.
Objective 2: Identify alfalfa molecular markers and germplasm associated with
drought tolerance and increased water use efficiency, as evaluated by biomass yield under a deficit irrigation gradient.
Approach 2: Two hundred alfalfa accessions with potential drought tolerance were
selected & will be used for screening drought tolerance. A split plot design will be used with three irrigation treatments as main plot treatments. Since field conditions are difficult to control, a highly controlled greenhouse assay will be used for selecting germplasm for drought tolerance and improved WUE. We will plant a second set of the same accessions in the USDA-ARS greenhouse in Prosser and it will be used for phenotyping traits associated with drought tolerance and improved WUE. In the first phase, we will develop a greenhouse protocol for measuring water usage and biomass. As transpiration efficiency (TE) refers to the amount of biomass produced per unit water transpired, it would be practicable to measure TE for plants grown in pots. An imaging system will be used for monitoring plant growth and biomass development, which can be performed non-destructively several times a week. Agronomic and physiological traits including biomass, root characteristics, flowering time, relative leaf water content and osmotic adjustment are highly correlated with drought tolerance and will also be measured in the mapping population. Similar genotyping and mapping strategies used in Objective 1 will be used for identifying QTL and linked markers associated with drought resistance and enhanced WUE.
Contingencies: If the development of mapping population for drought tolerance fails, we will use breeding populations composited of 26 half-sib families developed at the USDA-ARS, Logan, UT, for mapping of QTLs associated with drought tolerance and enhanced WUE using similar strategies as described.
