Screening of Comprehensive Panel of Cultivated and Wild Vigna Species for Resistance to Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis L.

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The most harmful storage pest of pulses is known to be the bruchid or pulse beetle, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Chemical insecticides work well to reduce bruchid infestation; however, they have negative effects on the health of food consumers. One of the best mitigating methods among efficient, safe and sustainable strategies to lessen crop losses during storage is the development of pulse-beetle-resistant cultivars. Unfortunately, the majority of pulses lack resistance to the pulse beetle. Consequently, it is necessary to look for pulse beetle resistance in wild and exotic germplasms. Identifying potential donors for pulse beetle resistance and examining their characters in bruchid-susceptible and -resistant genotypes were the goals of the present investigation. Among the tested genotypes, two genotypes, i.e., PRR 2008-2 and PRR 2008-2-sel, were found to be highly resistant, and one accession, TCR-93, was found to be resistant to the pulse beetle. The biochemical basis of resistance modulated by the basal expression of antioxidants in highly resistant genotypes has also been studied. Currently, a quicker option for generating substantial genetic gain for desired trait improvement is molecular breeding. In the present investigation, start codon targets (SCoT) markers were used to analyse the genetic differences. ABSTRACT: Pulses are a key source of dietary proteins in human nutrition. Despite several efforts to increase the production, various constraints, such as biotic and abiotic factors, threaten pulse production by various means. Bruchids (Callosobruchus spp.) are the serious issue of concern, particularly in storage conditions. Understanding host–plant resistance at morphological, biochemical and molecular levels is the best way to minimize yield losses. The 117 mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) genotypes, including endemic wild relatives, were screened for resistance against Callosobruchus chinensis; among them, two genotypes, PRR 2008-2 and PRR 2008-2-sel, which belong to V. umbellata (Thumb.), were identified as highly resistant. The expression of antioxidants in susceptible and resistant genotypes revealed that the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) was upregulated in the highly resistant wild Vigna species and lower in the cultivated susceptible genotypes, along with other biomarkers. Further, the SCoT-based genotyping revealed SCoT-30 (200 bp), SCoT-31 (1200 bp) and SCoT-32 (300 bp) as unique amplicons, which might be useful for developing the novel ricebean-based SCAR markers to accelerate the molecular breeding programme.