here - First Legume Society Conference (LSC1)

Book of Abstracts First Legume Society Conference 2013: A Legume Odyssey Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-11 May 2013
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Production and evaluation of interspecific derivatives of C. lanceolatus
Sandhya Srikanth 1,3 , K Padmasree 2 , MV Rao 3 , Nalini Mallikarjuna 1
1 International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, India
2 Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India
3 Department of Plant Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu, India
Cultivated pigeon pea has a narrow genetic base. Wild relatives play an important role in the
efforts to broaden its genetic base. In this report, a successful wide-cross between Cajanus
lanceolatus, a wild relative from secondary gene pool, native of Australia, with desirable traits such
as frost and drought resistance, and cultivated pigeonpea is reported. A range of F 1 progeny were
obtained and the resultant F 1 hybrids set mature pods/seeds. Hybrids had intermediate
morphology sharing traits of both the parents. All the F 1 hybrids flowered profusely. Some of the
hybrids were completely male sterile and some were partially fertile with the pollen fertility
ranging from 35% to 50%. Male sterile F 1 hybrids were backcrossed with different short-duration
and medium-duration cultivated pigeonpea varieties which resulted in a new source of A 9 CMS
line. Cytological analysis of the fertile F 1 hybrids revealed high degree of meiotic chromosome
pairing between the two parental genomes. Meiotic analysis of sterile F 1BC 1 hybrids (CMS plants)
revealed that the break-down in the microsporogenesis was at the post meiotic stage after the
formation of tetrads. Fertile plants formed regular bivalents with normal disjunction except for
occasional asynchrony at meiotic II division. All interspecific derivatives were evaluated for pod
borer (Helicoverpa armigera) resistance under natural infestation at ICRISAT. Biochemical basis of
resistance was also identified by studying the levels of defence proteins active against trypsin,
chymotrypsin and trypsin-like enzymes of Helicoverpa armigera mid-gut proteinases. Proteinase
inhibitor profiles differed in the activity units in parents and interspecific derivatives. The details
of the study will be discussed.
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