Geographical Distribution of Genetic Diversity in Arachis hypogaea

Abstract The U.S. maintains a large (> 8000 accessions) and genetically diverse collection of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) germplasm. It is costly to screen all accessions within this collection for traits that could be useful in cultivar development. The objective of this research was to identify countries of origin that are rich sources of resistance to important peanut diseases. This would allow peanut breeders to focus their efforts on smaller subsets of the germplasm collection. Accessions in the peanut core collection were evaluated for resistance to late (Cercosporidium personatum Berk. & M. A. Curtis) and early (Cercospora arachidicola Hori) leaf spot, tomato spotted wilt Tospovirus (TSWV), the peanut root-knot nematode [Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal) Chitwood race 1], and Cylindrocladium black rot (CBR)[Cylindrocladium crotalarie (Loos) Bell & Sobers]. These data then were examined to determine if genes for resistance clustered geographically. Several geographical areas that appear to be rich sources for disease-resistant genes were identified. China had a relatively large number of accessions with resistance to the peanut root-knot nematode. Peru appeared to be a rich source of material with resistance to CBR. Resistance to late leaf spot was more frequent than expected in accessions from Bolivia and Ecuador. Bolivia was also a valuable source of resistance to early leaf spot. Early leaf spot resistance also was more prevalent than expected in accessions from India, Nigeria, and Sudan. India, Israel, and Sudan were valuable origins for material with resistance to TSWV. Accessions with multiple disease resistance were most common in India, Mozambique, and Senegal. This information should enable plant breeders to utilize more efficiently the genes for disease resistance that are available in the U.S. germplasm collection.