Registration of GA-BatSten1 and GA-MagSten1, two induced allotetraploids derived from peanut wild relatives with superior resistance to leaf spots, rust, and root-knot nematode

Wild relatives of peanut harbor alleles that confer strong resistance to diseases and pests and adaptation to environmental stresses, traits that frequently cannot be found in Arachis hypogaea. However, most wild species are diploid, while cultivated peanut (A. hypogaea L.) is tetraploid. When crossed, they produce sterile progeny, thus hindering their direct use in peanut breeding. To make the alleles of three wild species accessions directly available for breeding, we developed at the University of Georgia two fertile artificially induced allotetraploids (also known as amphidiploids or neotetraploids): GA-BatSten1 (Reg. no. GP-239, PI 695418) and GA-MagSten1 (GP-240, PI 695417). They derive from crosses between wild diploid species of peanut, A. batizocoi x A. stenosperma, and A. magna x A. stenosperma, respectively. Cuttings from the sterile diploid F(1)s were treated with colchicine. From some of these cuttings, fertile induced tetraploid seed were produced. These induced tetraploids are compatible with cultivated peanut, carry resistance to early and late leaf spot and root-knot nematode, and are being used in breeding programs in the United States for the production of resistant cultivars.

Automated summary

By inducing allotetraploids from wild diploid peanut species, researchers have overcome the reproductive barrier between wild peanuts and cultivated peanuts, allowing the direct utilization of beneficial genes from wild species in breeding programs, which opens up new possibilities for peanut breeding.