Detection of quantitative trait loci for mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) resistance in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) in India and Pakistan

Yellow mosaic disease (YMD) is one of the major diseases affecting mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). In this study, we report the mapping of the quantitative trait locus (QTL) for mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) resistance in mungbean. An F₈ recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping population was generated in Thailand from a cross between NM10-12-1 (MYMIV resistance) and KPS2 (MYMIV susceptible). One hundred and twenty-two RILs and their parents were evaluated for MYMIV resistance in infested fields in India and Pakistan. A genetic linkage map was developed for the RIL population using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Composite interval mapping identified five QTLs for MYMIV resistance: three QTLs for India (qYMIV1, qYMIV2 and qYMIV3) and two QTLs for Pakistan (qYMIV4 and qYMIV5). qYMIV1, qYMIV2, qYMIV3, qYMIV4 and qYMIV5 explained 9.33%, 10.61%, 12.55%, 21.93% and 6.24% of variation in disease responses, respectively. qYMIV1 and qYMIV4 appeared to be the same locus and were common to a major QTL for MYMIV resistance in India identified previously using a different resistant mungbean.     

Current status and future strategies of in vitro culture techniques for genetic improvement of mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Summary Mungbean is an important source of vegetable protein for the growing population in many developing countries of South East Asia. Its production is limited due to its susceptibility to diseases and insect pests besides many other undesirable agronomic traits. Strategies for increasing and stabilising its production have been to develop varieties resistant to diseases, pests and with other desirable agronomic traits. Genetic improvement of this crop by classical breeding has met with limited success due to the lack of sufficient and satisfactory level of genetic variability within germplasm. Recent advances in biotechnology have offered the opportunity to develop new germplasms. The development of such technologies largely depends on efficient regeneration of sexually mature plants from organs, tissues and protoplasts. An overview of plant regeneration by direct or indirect organogenesis and embryogenesis is presented. The use of in vitro and molecular techniques such as somaclonal variation, screening for various desirable traits, interspecific crossing and genetic transformation to supplement conventional breeding, for genetic improvement of this crop is described. The advantages and limitations of these techniques along with directions for future research are discussed.     

Effects of photoperiod and temperature on flowering in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Summary Forty strains of mungbeans, including all of the entries in the 1st and 2nd International Mungbean Nurseries (IMN), were grown in plant growth chambers in photoperiods of 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 hours and mean temperatures of 18, 23, and 28°C. Results show that (1) mungbean strains differ in their flowering response to photoperiod and to mean temperature; (2) increasing the photoperiod of reducing the mean temperature delayed flowering, the amount of delay varied with the strain: (3) variations in mean temperature may alter the effect of the photoperiod on flowering in particular strains. Twenty-five strains which flowered in all photoperiod-temperature treatments could be divided into four groups, each group being successively later in flowering. The remaining 15 strains could be divided into four groups, according to their failure to flower within 105 days in specific photoperiod-temperature treatments. Flowering response in the growth chamber is useful in explaining flowering response in the 2nd IMN at three locations varying from 14°N to 49°N latitude.Contribution No 7516 from the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Inheritance of photoperiod response in mungbean (Vigna radiata [L.] Wilczek)

Summary A dominant or partially dominant gene for sensitivity to photoperiod in mungbean strain PI 180311 was identified and labeled Ps. The gene was expressed when strain P1180311, or crosses involving PI 180311 were grown in 16- or 14-hour photoperiods but was not expressed when the populations were grown in a 12-hour photoperiod or in the field at Columbia, Missouri. Dominance × dominance epistatic effects were indicated as governing days to flower in absence of the obvious effect of the Ps gene. A gene A for purple hypocotyl was independent of the gene Ps.Contribution No. 7894 from the Missouri Agriculture Experiment Station.     

Inheritance of seed resistance to bruchids in cultivated mungbean (Vigna radiata, L. Wilczek)

Bruchid beetles or seed weevils are the most devastating stored pests of grain legumes causing considerable loss to mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). Breeding for bruchid resistance is a major goal in mungbean improvement. Few sources of resistance in cultivated genepool were identified and characterized, however, there has been no study on the genetic control of the resistance. In this study, we investigated the inheritance of seed resistance to Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) and C. maculatus (F.) in two landrace mungbean accessions, V2709BG and V2802BG. The F₁, F₂ and BC generations were developed from crosses between the resistant and susceptible accessions and evaluated for resistance to the insects. It was found that resistance to bruchids in seeds is controlled by maternal plant genotype. All F₁ plants derived from both direct and reciprocal crosses exhibited resistance to the bruchids. Segregation pattern of reaction to the beetles in the F₂ and backcross populations showed that the resistance is controlled by a major gene, with resistance is dominant at varying degrees of expressivity. Although the presence of modifiers was also observed. The gene is likely the same locus in both V2709BG and V2802BG. The resistant gene is considered very useful in breeding for seed resistance to bruchids in mungbean.     

Inheritance of seed phytate in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Phytic acid (PA) is the main storage organic form of phosphorus (P) in seeds of cereals and legumes. It is a strong inhibitor against the absorption of nutrients in monogastric animals. The objective of this study was to determine the variation of total P (TP) in seeds of mungbean germplasm and investigate the inheritance of seed P compound and phytate contents. TP content in seeds of 250 accessions were found to range from 2.34 to 5.75 mg/g. The inheritance was studied in the F₂ population derived from a cross between 2 accessions with the lowest and highest PA contents, viz. V1658BBR and V1141BG. Broad-sense heritability estimates of TP, inorganic P (IP), and phytate P (PhyP) contents were 80.8, 78.6 and 80.7%, respectively. The 9:7 segregation ratio of F₂ population in this study indicated that high TP and PhyP were controlled by dominant alleles at 2 independent loci of major genes showing duplicated recessive epistasis.     

Isoenzymic diversity index of vigna parents in relation to heterosis for seed yield in green gram (Vigna radiata (L.)Wilczek)

Summary Extent of heterosis for seed yield is an indicator for transgressive segregation in cross of self-pollinated crops. However, the extent of heterosis is thought to be related to the genetic diversity among the parents. Isoenzymic variation was used for estimating the genetic diversity. Eight varieties of green gram (Vigna radiata) were characterized for esterase, amylases, phosphatases, catalase and peroxidase isoenzymes. Differences in these systems were used to calculate a diversity index (D.I.). Hybrids produced from an inbred pair having higher D.I.'s outyielded those with low D.I.'s. However, the correlation (r) between D.I. and heterosis for seed yield was not consistent in different seasons but some of the desirable crosses could be singled out on the basis of D.I.     

Identification and inheritance of a new gene for powdery mildew resistance in mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek)

Powdery mildew (PM) is one of the important foliar diseases of mungbean. Resistance sources have been identified in India and the inheritance studies showed that complete resistance (RO) was controlled by two dominant genes, Pm1 , Pm2 . The breakdown of complete resistance (RO) into moderate resistance (R2) by race-2 (Akola) has been reported. It is assumed that the change in resistance reaction is due to a mutation in the pathogen. The present investigation was carried out with a view to screen germplasm, cultivars and mutants for identification of complete resistance (RO) sources against race-2 and to study their inheritance. 'Mulmarada', a local mungbean cultivar from Maharashtra state of India was identified as a complete resistance (RO) source for race-2. The inheritance of Mulmarada's resistance (RO) was studied. The F₁ and the segregation in F₂ and F₃ showed that the complete resistance (RO) in 'Mulmarada' is controlled by a single dominant gene, which is different from the earlier identified Pm1 and Pm2 resistance genes. Mulmarada's resistance gene is designated as Pm3 for PM resistance.     

Genetical relationships between reactions to bacterial leaf spot,yellow mosaic and Cercospora leaf spot diseases in mungbean (Vigna radiata)

Summary Studies on the inheritance pattern of bacterial leaf spot (BLS), yellow mosaic (YM) and Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) reactions in crosses of BLS and YM resistant/tolerant but CLS susceptible × CLS resistant but BLS and YM susceptible parents indicated that resistances to BLS and CLS were governed by single dominant genes, whereas YM tolerance was a monogenic recessive character. The studies also indicated that these three genes were inherited independently. The simple inheritance pattern and independent assortment of the genes governing resistance/tolerance to these diseases suggest that the usual breeding methods will be adequate to develop multi-disease resistant mungbean cultivars.Paper XII in the series Studies on resistance in crops to bacterial diseases in India.     

Multifactor inheritance of seedcoat colour in greengram (Vigna Radiata (L.) Wilczek.)

Summary Seedcoat colour in greengram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek.) is a useful marker for genetic studies and varietal identification. Its mode of inheritance was examined in five crosses among nine parents which differed for seedcoat colour. Four of the parents had sap green seedcoat colour while the others had raw sienna, brownish green, densely black spotted, black and greenish yellow seedcoat colour, respectively. At the F₂ generation, no more than 20 different colour classes were observed. The segregation in F₃ and backcross generations indicated that at least five major genes were involved in seedcoat colour inheritance. Sap green seemed to be dominant over raw sienna. The segregation ratios further indicated the role of non-allelic gene interactions (epistasis) in inheritance of seedcoat colour. Gene symbols were assigned to each colour and genotypes to each parent.     

Triple test cross analysis for some morphological traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Thirty progenies of mungbean were produced by crossing 10 true-breeding genotypes with three testers (NM 92, 6601, and their F₁) in a Triple Test cross (TTC) fashion and evaluated with parents in the kharif (July-October) and spring/summer (March-June) seasons. The data on parents and F₁s were analysed for pod clusters on main stem, pod clusters on branches, node of the first peduncle, nodes on main stem and average internode length to detect epistasis and estimate additive and dominance components of genetic variation. Epistasis was observed for node of the first peduncle and nodes on main stem in the kharif season. Partitioning of total epistasis revealed that both additive × additive (i type), and additive × dominance, and dominance × dominance (j and l types) interactions were significant with prevalent influence of i type interactions on these traits. Both additive and dominance components of genetic variation were significant for all those traits not significantly influenced by epistasis in either or both seasons. The additive component was predominant for pod clusters on main stem, pod clusters on branches and average internode length in the kharif season, and for the node of the first peduncle and nodes on main stem in spring/summer season whereas dominance component was important for pod clusters on main stem, pod clusters on branches, and average internode length in spring/summer season. These results suggested that particular generation of segregating population and specific breeding method for selection might be adopted in each season for the improvement of these traits in mungbean. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genetics of the resistance to powdery mildew disease in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Powdery mildew disease caused by the fungus Erysiphe polygoni D.C. is an important disease of mungbean. Loss can be more serious if the disease attacks at seedling stage. In this paper, we report genetics of the resistance to powdery mildew disease in mungbean using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between the susceptible parent “KPS1” and the resistant parent “VC6468-11-1A”. Five hundred and ninety-two RILs were developed by random descending from 200 F₂ plants. The population was evaluated against the fungus in field and greenhouse conditions. The data were analyzed following a nested design for selfpollinating plants to determine genetic heritability of powdery mildew resistance. The severity of the infestation was measured by using disease index (DI) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC). Both values showed continuous distribution in the RILs. Under field conditions, the narrow-sense heritability of DI and AUDPC were 0.67 and 0.48, respectively. While under greenhouse conditions, the values were 0.68 and 0.62, respectively. The results suggested that the resistance is quantitatively inherited with high heritability and predominantly additive gene action. To develop powdery mildew-resistant mungbean varieties, the plant breeder can select for resistant lines by using standard selection procedures for self-pollinating crops, viz. pedigree selection, bulk selection, early generation testing, and single-seed descent.     

绿豆种质资源苗期耐盐性鉴定及耐盐种质筛选

土壤盐渍化已成为影响中国农业生产的重要问题,筛选耐盐绿豆种质资源对于盐渍化土地利用具有重要意义。本研究对346份国内外绿豆种质苗期用150 mmol L–1 NaCl进行胁迫处理,测定了株高、地上部鲜重、根鲜重、地上部干重、根干重、根长、根体积等12个指标,采用主成分分析和隶属函数分析、耐盐性综合评价分析及聚类分析对各样本的耐盐性进行了综合评价和归类,并采用逐步回归分析建立了耐盐性预测回归方程。结果表明,处理组与对照组各性状评价指标存在极显著差异,且12个指标的耐盐系数间均存在着不同程度的相关性。结合盐害症状等级划分与耐盐性综合评价结果,筛选到苗期高耐盐(1级)绿豆26份,耐盐(3级)绿豆65份,对盐分敏感(7级)绿豆74份,对盐分极敏感(9级)绿豆18份。其中来自江西的C04125、菲律宾的C06310等10份耐盐能力最强,可作为绿豆耐盐育种的优异种质资源。地上部鲜重、根鲜重、根干重、根长、根体积和根分枝数可以作为绿豆苗期耐盐性评价指标。     

Effect of quantitative trait loci for seed shattering on abscission layer formation in Asian wild rice Oryza rufipogon

Asian cultivated rice Oryza sativa L. was domesticated from its wild ancestor, O. rufipogon. During domestication, the cultivated rice lost its seed-shattering behaviour. Previous studies have shown that two major quantitative trait loci (QTLs; qSH1 and sh4) are responsible for the seed-shattering degree. Here, we produced introgression lines carrying non-functional alleles from O. sativa ‘Nipponbare’ at the two major QTLs in the genetic background of wild rice O. rufipogon W630, and examined the effects of the two QTLs on seed shattering and abscission layer formation. The introgression lines, with Nipponbare alleles at either or both loci, showed complete or partial abscission layer formation, respectively, indicating that other unknown loci might be involved in enhancing seed shattering in wild rice. We detected a single QTL named qSH3 regulating seed-shattering degree using an F₂ population between Nipponbare and the introgression line carrying Nipponbare alleles at the two QTLs. Although we generated an introgression line for qSH3 alone, no effects on seed shattering were observed. However, a significant effect on seed-shattering degree was observed for the introgression line carrying Nipponbare alleles at qSH3 and the two QTLs, suggesting an important role of qSH3 on seed shattering in coordination with the two QTLs.     

Inheritance of Cercospora Leaf Spot Resistance in Mung Bean, Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek

Inheritance of Cercospora leaf spot resistance in mungbean was studied in 20 crosses involving crosses of resistant × susceptible, resistant × resistant, susceptible × susceptible lines. 3:1 ratio was observed in all 14 F₂s involving resistant × susceptible parents. The inheritance of Cercospora leaf spot resistance is thus controlled by a single recessive gene. Our results are contradictory to observations of Thaklk et al. (1977 a, b) who found monogenic dominant inheritance of Cercospora leaf spot resistance in mungbean.     

Development of a SCAR marker linked with a MYMV resistance gene in mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek)

Yellow mosaic disease (YMD) caused by mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) is the most important disease of mungbean, causing great yield loss. The present investigation was carried out to study the inheritance and identify molecular markers linked with MYMV resistance gene by using F₁, F₂ and 167 F_2 : 8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from the cross ‘TM‐99‐37’ (resistant) × Mulmarada (susceptible). The F₁ was susceptible, F₂ segregated in 3S:1R phenotypic ratio and RILs segregated in 1S:1R ratio in the field screening indicating that the MYMV resistance gene is governed by a single recessive gene. Of the 140 RAPD primers, 45 primers showing polymorphism in parents were screened using bulked segregant analysis. Three primers amplified specific polymorphic fragments viz. OPB‐07_600, OPC‐06₁₇₅₀ and OPB‐12₈₂₀. The marker OPB‐07₆₀₀ was more closely linked (6.8 cM) with a MYMV resistance gene as compared to OPC‐06₁₇₅₀ (22.8 cM) and OPB‐12₈₂₀ (25.2 cM). The resistance‐specific fragment OPB‐07₆₀₀ was cloned, sequenced and converted into a sequence‐characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker and validated in twenty genotypes with different genetic backgrounds.     

Mapping of quantitative trait loci for floral scent compounds in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)

Floral scent is a very important trait in plant evolution. Currently, little is known about the inheritance of floral scent in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) or changes that might have occurred during its domestication. Therefore, we analysed scent volatiles and molecular markers in a population of 159 F₇ recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross of a domesticated blackeye cowpea cultivar, ‘524B’ and a wild accession ‘219‐01’. Using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC–MS) 23 volatile compounds were identified that fall into five general functional categories. Twenty‐two of the compounds displayed quantitative variation in the progeny, and a total of 63 QTLs influencing the amounts of these volatiles were mapped onto the cowpea genetic marker map. Although QTLs for volatile compounds putatively involved in cowpea flower scent were found on 9 of the 11 cowpea chromosomes, they were not evenly distributed with QTLs mainly clustered on LGs 1, LGs 2 and LG 4. Our results serve as a starting point for both more detailed analyses of complex scent biosynthetic pathways and the development of markers for marker‐assisted breeding of scented rose varieties.     

Genetic variability in flooding tolerance of mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) genotypes

The study was an exploratory in nature conducted using a large number of mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) genotypes of diverse growth habit and adaptive characters. Soil flooding induced changes in eleven morpho-physiological characters of one-week old seedlings of 530 mungbean genotypes was compared in the study. The first and second principal components (PC) of principal component analysis (PCA) results accounted for 58 and 14%, respectively of the total variations of mungbean genotypes. The variation for first PC was composed mainly of relative dry weight (DW) of shoot and leaf as well as total DW. The second PC distinguished the genotypes that produced larger root system. There were seven clusters distinguished in the cluster analysis. The genotypes in cluster 4 and 6 performed better in respect of relative total DW and relative root DW, respectively and hence having flooding tolerance. The genotypes in clusters 7 and 1 performed very poorly and those of under clusters 3, 2 and 5 were moderate to poor. D² analysis indicated that the clusters differed significantly from each other. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) reaffirmed that more than 90% of the genotypes were correctly assigned to clusters. Both PCA and DFA confirmed that the relative total DW followed by shoot and leaf DW as well as leaf area were the major discriminatory variables and the root : shoot ratio and root DW were the secondary important variables to distinguish genotypes into groups. In this study, multivariate analyses were used in identifying the mungbean genotypes of desirable traits for flooding tolerance.