Molecular Assisted Breeding for Ascochyta Blight Resistance in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) - A Review

Ascochyta Blight is a fungal disease caused by Ascochyta rabiei is a devastating disease of chickpea (C. arietinum) worldwide. A. rabiei completed its cycle in sporophytic and gametophytic both stages. Various approaches have been applied to determine genetics of resistance to Ascochyta Blight of chickpea and to map and tag the chromosomal regions using molecular markers. Mild resistance is present in many germplasms of chickpea but resistance clubbed with early flowering is the major breeding objective regarding this disease in chickpea. The RILs are scored for disease reactions in the field and genotyped for polymorphic molecular markers [isozyme, RAPD, SSR, ISSR, SNPs]. The disease occurrence scored quantitatively and QTLs have been analyzed. These DNA markers can be used for marker-assisted selection for Ascochyta Blight resistance in chickpea and to develop cultivars with durable resistance through gene pyramiding. This review reflects a status and strategy for molecular marker assisted breeding and widening of genetic base in chickpea for Ascochyta resistance for future use.