Development of Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) Primers for the Detection of Resistance to Sporisorium reiliana in Maize

Head smut of maize (Zea mays L.), which was caused by Sporisorium reiliana, occurred in most of the maize growing areas of the world. The purpose of this study was to develop SCAR markers for map-based cloning of resistance genes and MAS. Two sets of BC3 progenies, one (BC3Q) derived from the cross Qi319 (resistance) × Huangzao 4 (susceptible), the other (BC3M) from Mo17 (resistance) × Huangzao 4 (susceptible), were generated. Huangzao 4 was the recurrent parent in both progenies. A combination of BSA (bulked segregant analysis) with AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) method was applied to map the genes involving the resistance to S. reiliana, and corresponding resistant and susceptible bulks and their parental lines were used for screening polymorphic AFLP primer pairs. One fragment of P13M61–152 was converted into SCAR (sequence charactered amplified fragment) marker S130. The marker was mapped at chromosome bin 2.09, the interval of a major QTL region previously reported to contribute to S. reiliana resistance. Furthermore, S130 was highly associated with resistance to S. reiliana, and could be useful for marker-assisted selection and facilitate map-based cloning of resistance genes.