Research Objective
Phenotyping of the GWAS-2 pea panel for Aphanomyces root rot resistance; association mapping for identification of SNP markers associated with Aphanomyces root rot resistance; in silico comparison of identified loci with known QTLs of Aphanomyces resistance; field evaluation of selected GWAS-2 accessions for resistance to root rot complex.
A Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) panel, GWAS-2, was assembled by the pea breeding program at the Crop Development Centre (CDC). The GWAS-2 panel consists of 233 diverse pea (Pisum sativum) accessions selected for their genotypic diversity from among international pea core germplasm collections, breeding lines, and commercial cultivars released in Canada. The panel also includes 22 Pisum fulvum accessions. During the current reporting period, the 233 P. sativum accessions of GWAS-2 were evaluated for Aphanomyces root rot (ARR) resistance in a controlled environment, using Aphanomyces euteiches isolate AE11. New sources of moderate resistance to Aphanomyces root rot were identified among the GWAS-2 accessions. The GWAS-2 panel was genotyped using an Axiom® 90K SNP array. The phenotypic and genotypic information of the GWAS-2 panel will be used to identify the SNP markers associated with ARR resistance.