Development of a Functional SNP Map for Pea and Identification of Markers Linked to Important Agronomic Traits

Genetic and genomic resource development in pea (Pisum sativum L.) have lagged behind that of several model and major commercial crops despite playing a central role as a food crop as well as in establishing the principles of genetics. Construction of functional maps, i.e. assigning expressed portions of the genome, is an important step towards candidate gene analysis and dissection of complex traits controlled by quantitative trait loci. We developed a genome wide SNP resource for pea by discovering SNPs in ESTs sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing technology.-. Out of the fifty thousand SNP positions detected through in silico analysis, 1536 were selected for development of an Illumina Golden Gate assay which was used to genotype a RIL mapping populations derived from cross between Orb and CDC Striker (PR-02). A total of 293 SNP loci were polymorphic in PR-02 which were used in generating SNP linkage groups using JoinMap 4. Out of 293 SNP markers, we were able to map 255 SNP loci and a genetic linkage map consisting of 13 linkage groups was produced spanning 479.4 cM. Identification and tagging of QTLs for important agronomic traits viz. yield, lodging resistance, mycosphaerella blight resistance, and micronutrient concentration will be presented.