Development of a co-dominant DNA marker linked to the gene lentus conferring reduced pod shattering for marker-assisted selection in narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) breeding

With 1 figure and 4 tables Abstract Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is desirable for breeding non-shattering pods in narrow-leafed lupin and for facilitating the process of broadening the gene pool of existing domesticated Australian lupin cultivars. In this study, we developed a molecular marker using a strategy to incorporate the validation step during the candidate marker identification step by microsatellite-anchored fragment length polymorphisms (MFLP). Three MFLP polymorphisms showing banding patterns consistent with pod-shattering phenotypes on the 12 representative F8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were identified as candidate markers linked to lentus. One of these three markers matching the lentus phenotypes on representative cultivars and wild accessions was selected and converted into a co-dominant PCR-based marker, named LeLi. When marker LeLi was applied to 25 cultivars released in Australia and 125 wild core accessions of the Australian Lupin Collection, an overall matching rate of 60.67% was found assuming correct determination of the phenotypes. This newly developed marker is simple PCR-based and co-dominant and can be used for MAS in current lupin breeding in Western Australia.