Microsatellite markers for powdery mildew resistance in pea (Pisum sativum L.).

Powdery mildew is a common disease of field pea, Pisum sativum L., and is caused by the ascomycete fungus Erysiphe pisi. It can cause severe damage in areas where pea is cultivated. Today breeders want to develop new pea lines that are resistant to the disease. To make the breeding process more efficient, it is desirable to find genetic markers for use in a marker-assisted selection (MAS) strategy. In this study, microsatellites (SSR) were used to find markers linked to powdery mildew resistance. The resistant pea cultivar '955180' and the susceptible pea cultivar 'Majoret' were crossed and F2 plants were screened with SSR markers, using bulked segregant analysis. A total of 315 SSR markers were screened out of which five showed linkage to the powdery mildew resistance gene. No single marker was considered optimal for inclusion in a MAS program. Instead, two of the markers can be used in combination, which would result in only 1.6% incorrectly identified plants. Thus SSR markers can be successfully used in marker-assisted selection for powdery mildew resistance breeding in pea.