Validation of foreground and background SSR markers for introgression of QTL governing leaf glossiness into a sorghum variety - NTJ 2

Leaf glossiness and trichomes on leaf surface, two important component traits governing resistance to shoot fly in sorghum is controlled by Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) located on linkage group SBI-05. Foreground and background markers were validated for transfer of the QTLs to NTJ2, a popular variety of sorghum. For foreground selection, five SSR markers, Xtxp268, Xisep1111, Xtxp065, Xtxp303, and Xiabt440 in the region of the QTL were identified from 17 tested markers. From a total of 167 SSR markers spanning the entire genome, 35 polymorphic SSR markers, distributed on all the 10 chromosomes were identified for background selection. The F1, BC1F1 and F2 generation plants were screened using foreground markers. Based on the results obtained, the hybridity of the F1’s was confirmed and markerhomozygote individuals in F2 generation were identified for subsequent backcrossin