AUTHOR=Mallikarjuna Bingi P. , Samineni Srinivasan , Thudi Mahendar , Sajja Sobhan B. , Khan Aamir W. , Patil Ayyanagowda , Viswanatha Kannalli P. , Varshney Rajeev K. , Gaur Pooran M. 

TITLE=Molecular Mapping of Flowering Time Major Genes and QTLs in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.01140

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2017.01140

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Flowering time is an important trait for adaptation and productivity of chickpea in the arid and the semi-arid environments. This study was conducted for molecular mapping of genes/quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling flowering time in chickpea using F<sub>2</sub> populations derived from four crosses (ICCV 96029 × CDC Frontier, ICC 5810 × CDC Frontier, BGD 132 × CDC Frontier and ICC 16641 × CDC Frontier). Genetic studies revealed monogenic control of flowering time in the crosses ICCV 96029 × CDC Frontier, BGD 132 × CDC Frontier and ICC 16641 × CDC Frontier, while digenic control with complementary gene action in ICC 5810 × CDC Frontier. The intraspecific genetic maps developed from these crosses consisted 75, 75, 68 and 67 markers spanning 248.8 cM, 331.4 cM, 311.1 cM and 385.1 cM, respectively. A consensus map spanning 363.8 cM with 109 loci was constructed by integrating four genetic maps. Major QTLs corresponding to flowering time genes <italic>efl-1</italic> from ICCV 96029, <italic>efl-3</italic> from BGD 132 and <italic>efl-4</italic> from ICC 16641 were mapped on CaLG04, CaLG08 and CaLG06, respectively. The QTLs and linked markers identified in this study can be used in marker-assisted breeding for developing early maturing chickpea.</p>