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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Dawson, Georgia » National Peanut Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307615
Title: Genetic improvement of drought tolerance for productivity and food safety

Author
item CHEN, CHARLES - Auburn University
item Dang, Phat
item Lamb, Marshall

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/14/2014
Publication Date: 7/17/2014
Citation: Chen, C., Dang, P.M., Lamb, M.C. 2014. Genetic improvement of drought tolerance for productivity and food safety. Meeting Abstract.

Interpretive Summary: none required.

Technical Abstract: Production losses in agriculture during extended or severe drought episodes can be significant. Among a number of important food crops in the U.S. and many regions of the world, peanut is an important legume that is a rich source for oil, proteins, and vitamins. Drought can negatively affect yield and predispose peanuts to aflatoxin contamination, limiting its suitability for human consumption. A collaboration with scientists from USDA-ARS (Dawson, GA) and Auburn University (AL) aims to develop new peanut varieties with tolerance to drought. And integrated approached is utilized including agronomy, physiology, molecular biology, and genetics. Agronomy characteristics include yield and grade. Drought-related physiological traits include harvest index (HI), water-use efficiency (WUE), specific leaf area (SLA), and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR). For applications utilizing molecular biology, gene-expression profile is performed comparing a drought tolerant genotype ‘C76-16’ to a susceptible ‘AP-3’. This work resulted in the identification of transcription factors that are specifically regulated to maintain yield under drought stress. Applications utilizing genetics involve the development of breeding populations, molecular markers such as simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and genetic maps to identify potential quantitative trait loci (QTL) for drought tolerance. A team approach that integrates multiple disciplines will facilitate the development of drought tolerant peanut varieties and will benefit different segments of the peanut industry and all consumers.