SSR Genotyping and Marker-Trait Association with Yield Components in a Kazakh Germplasm Collection of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Genetic diversity and marker-trait association with yield-related components were assessed in 39 chickpea accessions from a germplasm collection with either spring or autumn-sown seeds in South-Eastern Kazakhstan. Chickpea accessions originated from Azerbaijan, Germany, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Syria, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Eleven SSR markers were used for molecular genotyping. Yield and yield components were evaluated in nine traits in experiments with spring and autumn seed sowing. The number of alleles of polymorphic markers varied from 2 to 11. The greatest polymorphism was found in the studied chickpea genotypes using SSR marker TA22 (11 alleles), while NCPGR6 and NCPGR12 markers were monomorphic. In the studied chickpea accessions, unique alleles of the SSR loci TA14, TA46, TA76s, and TA142 were found that were not previously described by other authors. An analysis of correlation relationships between yield-related traits in chickpea revealed the dependence of yield on plant height, branching, and the setting of a large number of beans. These traits showed maximal values in experiments with chickpea plants from autumn seed sowing. An analysis of the relationship between the SSR markers applied and morphological yield-related traits revealed several informative markers associated with important traits, such as plant height, height to first pod, number of branches, number of productive nodes, number of pods per plant, hundred seed weight, seed weight per plant, and seed yield.

SNP Genotyping with Amplifluor-Like Method.

For SNP genotyping, amplification of fluorescence (Amplifluor) is a popular and actively developing method in the plant sciences. The "Amplifluor-like" is a "home-made" modification of the original commercial Amplifluor method. Amplifluor-like genotyping requires two essential components: (1) two allele-specific forward primers targeting the SNP site with one common reverse primer; and (2) a universal part with two non-allele-specific molecular probes containing one of the two used fluorophores and a quencher. Allele discrimination is based on the fluorescence score, where the dominance of one dye over the other confirms the presence of each specific SNP allele. The Amplifluor-like method is similar to commercial KASP and original Amplifluor methods but is much cheaper because all components can be ordered as regular and modified oligos. The easily adaptable Amplifluor-like method can be modified by any researcher to make it suitable for available instruments, reagents and conditions in low-budget laboratories for SNP genotyping of any plant species with identified genetic polymorphism.

Height to first pod: A review of genetic and breeding approaches to improve combine harvesting in legume crops.

Height from soil at the base of plant to the first pod (HFP) is an important trait for mechanical harvesting of legume crops. To minimise the loss of pods, the HFP must be higher than that of the blades of most combine harvesters. Here, we review the genetic control, morphology, and variability of HFP in legumes and attempt to unravel the diverse terminology for this trait in the literature. HFP is directly related to node number and internode length but through different mechanisms. The phenotypic diversity and heritability of HFP and their correlations with plant height are very high among studied legumes. Only a few publications describe a QTL analysis where candidate genes for HFP with confirmed gene expression have been mapped. They include major QTLs with eight candidate genes for HFP, which are involved in auxin transport and signal transduction in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] as well as MADS box gene SOC1 in Medicago trancatula, and BEBT or WD40 genes located nearby in the mapped QTL in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). There is no information available about simple and efficient markers associated with HFP, which can be used for marker-assisted selection for this trait in practical breeding, which is still required in the nearest future. To our best knowledge, this is the first review to focus on this significant challenge in legume-based cropping systems.

Genetic diversity of gliadin-coding alleles in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from Northern Kazakhstan.

BACKGROUND: Spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) represents the main cereal crop in Northern Kazakhstan. The quality of wheat grain and flour strongly depends on the structure of gluten, comprised of gliadin and glutenin proteins. Electrophoresis spectra of gliadins are not altered by environmental conditions or plant growth, are easily reproducible and very useful for wheat germplasm identification in addition to DNA markers. Genetic polymorphism of two Gli loci encoding gliadins can be used for selection of preferable genotypes of wheat with high grain quality. METHODS: Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to analyse genetic diversity of gliadins in a germplasm collection of spring bread wheat from Northern Kazakhstan. RESULTS: The highest frequencies of gliadin alleles were found as follows, in Gli1: -A1 f (39.3%), -B1 e (71.9%), and -D1 a (41.0%); and in Gli-2: -A2 q (17.8%), -B2 t (13.5%), and -D2 q (20.4%). The combination of these alleles in a single genotype may be associated with higher quality of grain as well as better adaptation to the dry environment of Northern Kazakhstan; preferable for wheat breeding in locations with similar conditions.