Search

Striga hermonthica is a parasitic weed that poses a serious threat to the production of economically important cereals in sub-Saharan Africa. The existence of genetic diversity within and between S. hermonthica populations presents a challenge to the successful development and deployment of effective control technologies against this parasitic weed. Understanding the extent of diversity between S. hermonthica populations will facilitate the design and deployment of effective control technologies against the parasite. In the present study, S. hermonthica plants collected from different locations and host crops in Kenya and Nigeria were genotyped using single nucleotide polymorphisms. Statistically significant genetic differentiation ( FST = 0.15, P = 0.001) was uncovered between populations collected from the two countries. Also, the populations collected in Nigeria formed three distinct subgroups. Unique loci undergoing selection were observed between the Kenyan and Nigerian populations and among the three subgroups found in Nigeria. Striga hermonthica populations parasitising rice in Kenya appeared to be genetically distinct from those parasitising maize and sorghum. The presence of distinct populations in East and West Africa and in different regions in Nigeria highlights the importance of developing and testing Striga control technologies in multiple locations, including locations representing the geographic regions in Nigeria where genetically distinct subpopulations of the parasite were found. Efforts should also be made to develop relevant control technologies for areas infested with 'rice-specific' Striga spp. populations in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Striga hermonthica is a widespread, destructive parasitic plant that causes substantial yield loss to maize productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Under severe Striga infestation, yield losses can range from 60 to 100% resulting in abandonment of farmers' lands. Diverse methods have been proposed for Striga management; however, host plant resistance is considered the most effective and affordable to small-scale famers. Thus, conducting a genome-wide association study to identify quantitative trait nucleotides controlling S. hermonthica resistance and mining of relevant candidate genes will expedite the improvement of Striga resistance breeding through marker-assisted breeding. For this study, 150 diverse maize inbred lines were evaluated under Striga infested and non-infested conditions for two years and genotyped using the genotyping-by-sequencing platform. Heritability estimates of Striga damage ratings, emerged Striga plants and grain yield, hereafter referred to as Striga resistance-related traits, were high under Striga infested condition. The mixed linear model (MLM) identified thirty SNPs associated with the three Striga resistance-related traits based on the multi-locus approaches (mrMLM, FASTmrMLM, FASTmrEMMA and pLARmEB). These SNPs explained up to 14% of the total phenotypic variation. Under non-infested condition, four SNPs were associated with grain yield, and these SNPs explained up to 17% of the total phenotypic variation. Gene annotation of significant SNPs identified candidate genes (Leucine-rich repeats, putative disease resistance protein and VQ proteins) with functions related to plant growth, development, and defense mechanisms. The marker-effect prediction was able to identify alleles responsible for predicting high yield and low Striga damage rating in the breeding panel. This study provides valuable insight for marker validation and deployment for Striga resistance breeding in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]