Molecular mapping of flowering time genes in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)B PMallikarjunaauthorSSamineniauthorMThudiauthorSSajjaauthorA WKhanauthorAPatilauthorK PViswanathaauthorR KVarshneyauthorP MGaurauthorFlowering time is an important trait of chickpea that influences crop adaptation to a given climate. Earliness in both flowering time and maturity are important traits for increasing and stabilizing chickpea productivity in short season environments by avoiding end of season drought. A study was conducted to identify genes/quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling flowering time in chickpea using four F2 populations (ICCV 96029 × CDC Frontier, ICC 5810 × CDC Frontier, BGD 132 × CDC Frontier and ICC 16641 × CDC Frontier). Genetic studies revealed monogenic control of flowering time in the crosses ICCV 96029 × CDC Frontier, BGD 132 × CDC Frontier and ICC 16641 × CDC Frontier, while in the cross ICC 5810 × CDC Frontier, it was under digenic control with complementary gene action. The genetic linkage maps developed from four crosses consisted of 75, 75, 68 and 67 markers spanning 248.8 cM, 331.4 cM, 311.1 cM, and 385.1 cM, respectively. A consensus map spanning 363.8 cM with 109 loci was developed by integrating four genetic maps. QTL mapping detected major genomic regions controlling early flowering genes efl-1 (Qefl1-2) on CaLG04, efl-2 (Qefl2-1, Qefl2-2, Qefl2-3, Qefl2- 4) on CaLG01, 03, 04 and 08, efl-3 (Qefl3-3) on CaLG08 and efl4 (Qefl4-1) on CaLG06. Analysis of QTL regions on CaLG04 and CaLG08 provided several important candidate genes involved in regulation of flowering time and homeotic functions. The identified genomic regions with linked molecular markers can be deployed for introgressing early flowering trait into elite chickpea cultivars through marker-assisted breeding (MAB).ChickpeaGenetics and Genomics2017-02Conference or Workshop Item