Marker-Assisted Selection to Pyramid Nematode Resistance and the High Oleic Trait in Peanut

The dynamic challenges of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) farming demand a quick response from breeders to develop new cultivars, a process that can be aided by the application of molecular markers. With the goal to pyramid nematode resistance and the trait for high oleic: linoleic acid (high O:L) ratio in seeds, nematode-resistant cultivar Tifguard was used as the recurrent female parent and high O: L cultivars Georgia-02C and Florida-07 were used as donor parents for the high O:L trait. 'Tifguard High O/L' was generated through three rounds of accelerated backcrossing using BCnF1 progenies selected with molecular markers for these two traits as the pollen donors. Selfed BC3F2 plants yielded marker-homozygous individuals identified as Tifguard High O/L, compressing the hybridization and selection phases of the cultivar development process to less than 3 yr. The accuracy of marker-assisted selection (MAS) was confirmed by phenotyping a subset of F-2:3 populations from both parental combinations. Once additional molecular markers linked with traits of interest are designed to be compatible with high-throughput screening platforms, MAS will be more widely integrated into peanut breeding programs.