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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Poplarville, Mississippi » Southern Horticultural Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359561
Research Project: Production and Disease and Pest Management of Horticultural Crops

Location: Southern Horticultural Research Unit

Title: Comparison of anthracnose resistance with the presence of two SCAR markers associated with the Rca2 gene in strawberry

Author
item MILLER-BUTLER, MELINDA - Former ARS Employee
item Smith, Barbara
item KREISER, BRIAN - University Of Southern Mississippi
item BLYTHE, EUGENE - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/12/2019
Publication Date: 5/1/2019
Citation: Miller-Butler, M.A., Smith, B.J., Kreiser, B.R., Blythe, E.K. 2019. Comparison of anthracnose resistance with the presence of two SCAR markers associated with the Rca2 gene in strawberry. HortScience. 54(5):793–798. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13805-18.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13805-18

Interpretive Summary: A major goal of strawberry plant breeders is the development of disease resistant cultivars which would reduce losses of fruit and plants. The objective of this research was to establish the degree of association between strawberry plants with known resistance to anthracnose diseases and the presence or absence of the two molecular markers. We identified two SCAR markers with marginally significant effects on anthracnose resistance caused by one species of the pathogen which agreed with prior research. The knowledge of molecular markers for anthracnose resistance will be used by strawberry breeders to identify plants in their breeding program that may posses anthracnose resistance genes.

Technical Abstract: Strawberry anthracnose is caused by a complex of three Colletotrichum species: C. acutatum, C. fragariae, and C. gloeosporioides. Molecular markers are being used in breeding programs to identify alleles linked to disease resistance and other positive agronomic traits. In this research strawberry cultivars and breeding germplasm with known anthracnose susceptibility or resistance to the three anthracnose-causing Colletotrichum species were screened for two sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers linked to the Rca2 gene. An association was found between the presence or absence of the Rca2 resistant allele SCAR markers and a strawberry plant’s anthracnose resistance. The presence or absence of the Rca2 resistance gene and the germplasm lines’ anthracnose resistance will assist in breeding strawberry germplasm for anthracnose resistance.