ABSTRACT
Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is an important fiber and oil-producing crop. Flax rust, caused by Melampsora lini Ehrenb. Lev., occurs worldwide and can cause severe losses in seed yield and fiber quality. In order to identify molecular markers linked to the flax rust resistant gene M4, RAPD analysis of NM4, a near-isogenic line containing the M4 gene, and the recurrent parent Bison was carried out with 540 decamer primers. The primer OPA18 could stably amplify a specific fragment, OPA18(432), in the NM4 line. The OPA18(432) marker was testified to be closely linked to the M4 gene with a genetic distance of 2.1 cM through the analysis of the F2 mapping population derived from a cross of Bison x NM4. Based on the sequence of OPA18(432), the specific PCR primers were designed, and a SCAR marker for the M4 gene was produced. Amplification of different resistant materials proved that the maker is specific for the M4 gene. This marker has been used successfully in marker-assisted selection in the flax breeding program.