|Rajesh, P - NATIONAL CHEM LABORATORY|
|Meksem, Khalid - SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIV|
|Lightfoot, D - SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIV|
Submitted to: International Chickpea and Pigeonpea Newsletter
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 1, 2002
Publication Date: November 1, 2002
Citation: RAJESH, P.N., MEKSEM, K., COYNE, C.J., LIGHTFOOT, D.A., MUEHLBAUER, F.J. CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST BACTERIAL ARTIFICAL CHROMOSOME LIBRARY IN CHICKPEA. INTERNATIONAL CHICKPEA AND PIGEONPEA NEWSLETTER. 2002. v. 9. p. 29-30. Interpretive Summary: Chickpea is an economically important crop throughout the world and particularly in semi-arid regions. However, there are several devastating diseases that affect chickpea that have been approached through breeding resistant varieties. Genes for resistance have been identified and mapped in the chickpea genome. To further utilize this genetic information, we have developed tools for the isolation and characterization of the resistance genes. Specifically, we developed what is commonly known as a Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) library that we expect to use to locate and clone the important genes for disease resistance, particularly those genes for resistance to Fusarium wilt and Ascochyta blight. The material has been developed and is now available for use in our research and also for use by other labs. This report highlights important details of the library and announces the availability and potential uses.
Technical Abstract: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum, 2x=2n=16 chromosomes) is an economically important crop throughout the world as well as in the U.S. Research is underway to map the chickpea genome and locate important disease resistance genes. The objectives of this research were to develop a Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) library of the chickpea genome, to characterize the library and to make the library available as a tool for locating and isolating important genes. A BAC library was constructed using the ascochyta blight resistant germplasm line, FLIP84-92C. Based on the size of the inserts and genome size of chickpea, we calculated that the BAC library to have 3.8 times coverage of the genome and a 95% probability of finding any chickpea fragment from the library. This is the first reported BAC library of the chickpea genome and the first step towards isolation of important genes for disease resistance in chickpea.