A molecular marker closely linked to the region of Rht-D1c and Ms2 genes in common wheat (Triticum aestivum).

A male sterile wheat mutant, Triticum aestivum L. 'Taigu', was found in a wheat field in China in 1972. The male sterility was controlled by a single dominant gene that was referred to as Ms2. Recently, this gene was found to be linked to a dwarfing gene through crossing Taigu with the short wheat T. aestivum 'Ai-Bian 1' carrying the dwarfing gene Rht-D1c. The objective of this study was to develop molecular markers linked to the male sterility Ms2 gene in common wheat. One hundred and twenty-two near-isogenic lines were developed through backcrossing and sib intercrossing and used as the mapping population for the development of molecular markers. Bulked segregant analysis was used to screen 48 pairs of SSR primers, and a marker, MS2-WMC617, was identified closely linked to the male sterile Ms2 gene that mapped at the distal position of chromosome arm 4DS. The use of the molecular marker MS2-WMC617 can facilitate recurrent selection in a wheat breeding program based on marker-assisted selection.