Molecular Markers in Grasspea Breeding-A Review

The advantages of various molecular markers techniques and the ability to transfer genes across different organisms, using transgene technology has begun to have an impact on plant genome research and breeding. These techniques offer new approaches for improving important agronomic traits in Lathyrus and breaking down gene transfer barriers to related legume species. Molecular markers are used in plant genome studies to assess genetic diversity, determining the desired plants genotype at cultivar level, construction of genetic maps, as a specific probe for screening of traits in breeding programs, tagging genetic traits and genome mapping, to predict hybrid performance and hybrid identity, and marker assisted selection. The use of molecular markers accelerate the generation of new varieties by three plant generation by allowing the selection of offspring which have desired combinations of genetic character. It also allows the association of phenotypic characters with the corresponding genomic loci.