Characterization and mapping of Rpi1, a late-blight resistance locus from diploid (1EBN) Mexican Solanum pinnatisectum

Solanum is a diverse genus with over 200 species occupying a range of habitats from the Southwestern United States to Central Chile. Germplasm evaluations have focused on species that can be crossed with S. tuberosum, while Mexican diploid (2n = 2x = 24) Solanum species with an Endosperm Balance Number (EBN) of 1 have received less attention because of poor crossability due to their ploidy and EBN. Recent changes in Phytophthora infestans populations have increased the need for new sources of genetic resistance to this fungus. We have characterized resistance to P. infestans in the Mexican 2x(1EBN) species S. pinnatisectum. An interspecific hybrid between resistant S. pinnatisectum and susceptible S. cardiophyllum plants was backcrossed to S. cardiophyllum to generate a family segregating for late-blight resistance. The diploid (1EBN) genetic map generated with 99 RFLP markers revealed extensive synteny with previously published potato maps. A single dominant late-blight resistance locus (Rpi1) from S. pinnatisectum was mapped to chromosome 7, a region previously not associated with late-blight resistance. Characterization of the P.infestans isolate used for disease evaluations revealed that it possessed the avirulence gene corresponding to the R9 resistance locus, indicating that Rpi1 could possibly correspond to R9.