Identification of carrying alien DNA fragments in Solanum melongena x Solanum incanum interspecific progeny by using COSII marker

Abstract

Cultivated eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is produced in many countries with temperate and tropical climates and has great economic importance. In recent years, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress conditions in addition to increasing yield and quality has gained importance in plant breeding including eggplant breeding. Therefore, the wild relative S. incanum is an important parent in breeding studies as it provides resistance to some important biotic and abiotic stresses for eggplant. It is possible to obtain a fully fertile hybrid between the two species, as well as to establish F2 lines. However, it is a mystery whether there is gene introgression from wild ancestor in F2 individuals. The phenotypic distinguishing and elimination in selection of the nonhybrid plants by classical breeding methods requires a long time and intensive labour. For this reason, there is a need for solutions in breeding studies in which gene transfers from wild relatives can be detected in the early development stages of plants. In this study, it was aimed to determine whether the F2 individuals obtained from interspecific cross of an inbred line P45 belonging to S. melongena x S. incanum crosses, when they were at the seedling stage, were S. melongena, S. incanum or carry genes from both ancestors by using T1480 COSII marker. Among a total of 94 F2 eggplant individuals and two parent eggplant species, it was determined that 51 individuals carried DNA fragments from both parental eggplant species, while 22 individuals belonging to the S. incanum species and 23 individuals belonging to the S. melongena species were identified. The resulting segregation ratio was 1:2:1, which was in accordance with Mendelian genetics. The results clearly showed that T1480 could be a useful marker for distinguishing whether seedling stage F2 plants carry genes from S. melongena, S. incanum, or both parents. As a conclusion, T1480 COSII marker can be used in eggplant breeding studies and will enable the plant improvement to progress more reliably than classical approaches.