QTL mapping of lentil anthracnose (Colletotrichum lentis) resistance from Lens ervoides accession IG 72815 in an interspecific RIL population

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum lentis, is one of the most damaging diseases of lentil ( L. culinaris ) in western Canada. Lens ervoides accession IG 72815 exhibits high levels of resistance to the pathogenic races 0 and 1. The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with anthracnose resistance in lentil using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from the interspecific cross between IG 72815 and the susceptible cultivar Eston. A total of 168 RILs were genotyped and evaluated for anthracnose race 0 and race 1 reaction in the growth chamber and polyhouse. QTL analysis identified major resistance loci on chromosomes 3 and 7 for both races, accounting for 20.1–31.2% and 8.3–18.4%, respectively, of the total phenotypic variation for anthracnose resistance. Multiple classes of putative defense-related genes are located within both loci. Further characterization of these regions will facilitate the introgression of anthracnose resistance from Lens ervoides into elite lentil cultivars via marker-assisted selection.