TY  - JA
AU  - Saba Baba Mohammed
AU  - Ongom,P.O.
AU  - Belko,N.
AU  - Muhammad Lawan Umar
AU  - Muñoz-Amatriaín,M.
AU  - Bao-Lam Huynh
AU  - Togola,A.
AU  - Ishiyaku,M.F.
AU  - Boukar,O.
TI  - Quantitative Trait Loci for phenology, yield, and phosphorus use efficiency in cowpea
SN  - 2073-4425
PY  - 2025///
CY  - Basel (Switzerland)
PB  - MDPI, 
KW  - Cowpeas
KW  - AGROVOC
KW  - Phosphorus
KW  - Use efficiency
KW  - Grain
KW  - Crop yield
KW  - Quantitative Trait Loci
KW  - Soil fertility
N1  - Peer review; Open Access
N2  - Background/Objectives: Cowpea is an important legume crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and beyond. However, access to phosphorus (P), a critical element for plant growth and development, is a significant constraint in SSA. Thus, it is essential to have high P-use efficiency varieties to achieve increased yields in environments where little-to- no phosphate fertilizers are applied. Methods: In this study, crop phenology, yield, and grain P efficiency traits were assessed in two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations across ten environments under high- and low-P soil conditions to identify traits’ response to different soil P levels and associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Single-environment (SEA) and multi-environment (MEA) QTL analyses were conducted for days to flowering (DTF), days to maturity (DTM), biomass yield (BYLD), grain yield (GYLD), grain P-use efficiency (gPUE) and grain P-uptake efficiency (gPUpE). Results: Phenotypic data indicated significant variation among the RILs, and inadequate soil P had a negative impact on flowering, maturity, and yield traits. A total of 40 QTLs were identified by SEA, with most explaining greater than 10% of the phenotypic variance, indicating that many major-effect QTLs contributed to the genetic component of these traits. Similarly, MEA identified 23 QTLs associated with DTF, DTM, GYLD, and gPUpE under high- and low-P environments. Thirty percent (12/40) of the QTLs identified by SEA were also found by MEA, and some of those were identified in more than one P environment, highlighting their potential in breeding programs targeting PUE. QTLs on chromosomes Vu03 and Vu08 exhibited consistent effects under both high- and low-P conditions. In addition, candidate genes underlying the QTL regions were identified. Conclusions: This study lays the foundation for molecular breeding for PUE and contributes to understanding the genetic basis of cowpea response in different soil P conditions. Some of the identified genomic loci, many being novel QTLs, could be deployed in marker-aided selection and fine mapping of candidate genes
UR  - https://hdl.handle.net/10883/36392
T2  - Genes
DO  - https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16010064
ER  -