Development of molecular markers associated with resistance to Meloidogyne incognita by performing quantitative trait locus analysis and genome-wide association study in sweetpotato

The southern root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is a pest that decreases yield and the quality of sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.]. There is a demand to produce resistant cultivars and develop DNA markers to select this trait. However, sweetpotato is hexaploid, highly heterozygous, and has an enormous genome (similar to 3 Gb), which makes genetic linkage analysis difficult. In this study, a high-density linkage map was constructed based on retrotransposon insertion polymorphism, simple sequence repeat, and single nucleotide polymorphism markers. The markers were developed using F-1 progeny between J-Red, which exhibits resistance to multiple races of M. incognita, and Choshu, which is susceptible to multiple races of such pest. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and a genome-wide association study detected highly effective QTLs for resistance against three races, namely, SP1, SP4, and SP6-1, in the Ib01-6 J-Red linkage group. A polymerase chain reaction marker that can identify genotypes based on single nucleotide polymorphisms located in this QTL region can discriminate resistance from susceptibility in the F-1 progeny at a rate of 70%. Thus, this marker could be helpful in selecting sweetpotato cultivars that are resistant to multiple races of M. incognita.