Mapping of quantitative trait loci for floral scent compounds in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)

Floral scent is a very important trait in plant evolution. Currently, little is known about the inheritance of floral scent in cowpea ( V igna unguiculata L.) or changes that might have occurred during its domestication. Therefore, we analysed scent volatiles and molecular markers in a population of 159 F 7 recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross of a domesticated blackeye cowpea cultivar, ‘524B’ and a wild accession ‘219‐01’. Using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry ( GC – MS ) 23 volatile compounds were identified that fall into five general functional categories. Twenty‐two of the compounds displayed quantitative variation in the progeny, and a total of 63 QTL s influencing the amounts of these volatiles were mapped onto the cowpea genetic marker map. Although QTL s for volatile compounds putatively involved in cowpea flower scent were found on 9 of the 11 cowpea chromosomes, they were not evenly distributed with QTL s mainly clustered on LG s 1, LG s 2 and LG 4. Our results serve as a starting point for both more detailed analyses of complex scent biosynthetic pathways and the development of markers for marker‐assisted breeding of scented rose varieties.