Registration of six disease resistant, high protein, induced allotetraploids derived from Arachis duranensis and A. ipaënsis, the genome progenitors of peanut.

The allotetraploid legume peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) has low genetic diversity due to the single origin and ploidy barrier with its wild relatives, which are mostly diploid. This lack of genetic diversity hinders breeding and genetic gains. Wild peanut relatives harbor known resistances to pests and diseases and genetic variation that can contribute to adaptation to diverse environments and a changing climate. The ploidy barrier between the wild relatives and the cultigen can be surpassed by the production of induced allotetraploids using parents with genomes that are compatible to those of peanut. Here, we crossed seven accessions of six Arachis species. All combinations carried at least one of the peanut progenitors, A. ipaënsis and A. duranensis, crossed with a species of complementary genome. The original hybrids were treated with colchicine for recovery of fertility, observed by pollen viability and seed production. Six new allotetraploids were produced; they were named WPL-BatDur1 (Reg. no. GP-248, PI 707934), WPL-BatDur2 (Reg. no. GP-249, PI 707936), WPL-MagDur1 (Reg. no. GP-253, PI 707942), WPL-IpaCor1 (Reg. no. GP-251, PI 707938), WPL-IpaDur1 (Reg. no. GP-250, PI 707937), and WPL-IpaVillo1 (Reg. no. GP-252, PI 707941), released by the University of Georgia. Cytogenetic analyses confirmed the tetraploid plants had 20 A-type and 20 B- or K-type chromosomes. All these allotetraploids have surprisingly high protein content. They also show moderate to strong resistance to the main peanut fungal diseases (late and early leaf spot and rust) and Southern stem rot, are compatible with cultivated peanut, and are being used in breeding programs in the United States, Senegal, and Brazil for the development of resilient peanut cultivars.

Na publicação: A. C. G. Araujo.