Identification of molecular markers associated with yield and plant characteristics in chickpea under drought stress

Drought stress is the major limiting factor to crop production especially chickpea. Terminal drought has been leading to more than 50% of yield losses in this plant. In this study, association mapping was used to identify molecular markers associated with traits related to drought tolerance in 64 chickpea landraces. Genotypes were cultivated in a simple lattice design (8×8) and phenotyped for 17 various traits related to drought stress. Eighteen IRAP (Inter retrotransposon amplified polymorphism) and REMAP (Retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism) primers were used to assess the genetic diversity of the genotypes. 129 loci were amplified which 88 (64.34%) was polymorphic among landraces. Population structure analysis using Bayesian approach revealed 11 groups in studied chickpea landraces. Fst mean values of the groups was more than 0.5, indicating remarkable differentiation among the groups. Association mapping using mixed linear model (MLM) identified 28 markers associated with 17 traits at the 5% and 1% significant levels. Maximum number of associated loci was identified for width of main branches. Some markers were associated with more than one trait. After confirmation and validation of the identified markers, they can be used in chickpea breeding programs for developing superior varieties with enhanced drought tolerance.