Molecular tagging of Asiatic soybean rust resistance in exotic genotype EC 241780 reveals complementation of two genes

Asian soybean rust ( ASR ) caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi severely reduces seed yield in soybean. Molecular tagging of ASR resistance can help in the process of resistance breeding. In this study, an F 2 population of cross (susceptible cultivar ‘ NRC 7’ × resistant exotic genotype EC 241780) was used for bulked segregant analysis ( BSA ) with 25 SSR (simple sequence repeat) primers linked with six Rpp genes. Among them, five polymorphic SSR markers, viz ., Sct 187, SSR 1859, Satt 191 ( Rpp1b like loci) and Satt 215, Sat_361 ( Rpp2 loci) distinguished the ASR resistant and susceptible bulks and individuals. In combined marker analysis, the markers Satt 191 ( Rpp1b like loci) and Satt 215 ( Rpp2 loci) were linked with ASR severity score and were also confirmed in individual 110 F 2 segregants. Hence, these markers could be utilized in the marker assisted rust resistance breeding of Rpp1b like and Rpp2 genes. In silico candidate gene analysis for hypersensitive response revealed that Satt 191 linked region was rich in genes encoding apoptotic ATP ase having leucine‐rich repeat ( LRR ) domain.