Allele Mining – An Approach to Discover Allelic Variation in Crops

By : Yugandhar Gokidi , A. Nishant Bhanu , Kailash Chandra , M. N. Singh , A. Hemantaranjan

Page No: 167-180

Abstract
The development of new high yielding varieties of crop plant made possible by accumulation of beneficial alleles from plant genetic resources existing worldwide but still a significant portion of these alleles were not used as these were left behind during evolution and domestication process in the form of wild relatives and land races. Hence, the vast germplasm need to be relooked for novel alleles to further enhance the genetic potential of crop varieties for various agronomic traits. Based on gene and genome sequences available in public database, PCR strategies are devised to identify and isolate novel and superior alleles of agronomically important genes from a wide range of crop species to suitably organize for the development of improved cultivars. Allele mining can be effectively used for discovery of superior alleles are through ‘mining’ the gene of interest from diverse genetic resources. It can also provide insight into molecular basis of novel trait variations and identify the nucleotide sequence changes associated with superior alleles. It will help to trace the evolution of alleles, identification of new haplotypes and development of allele-specific markers for use in Marker Assisted Selection (MAS). Realizing the immense potential of Allele mining, concerted Allele mining efforts are underway in many international crop research institutes.

Authors :
Yugandhar Gokidi, A. Nishant Bhanu, Kailash Chandra and M. N. Singh : Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
A. Hemantaranjan : Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India