Background Peanut smut is a disease caused by the fungus Thecaphora frezii Carranza & Lindquist to which most commercial cultivars in South America are highly susceptible. It is responsible for severely decreased yield and no effective chemical treatment is available to date. However, smut resistance has been identified in wild Arachis species and further transferred to peanut elite cultivars. To identify the genome regions conferring smut resistance within a tetraploid genetic background, this study evaluated a RIL population {susceptible Arachis hypogaea subsp. hypogaea (JS17304-7-B) × resistant synthetic amphidiploid (JS1806) [A. correntina (K 11905) × A. cardenasii (KSSc 36015)] × A. batizocoi (K 9484)4×} segregating for the trait. Results A SNP based genetic map arranged into 21 linkage groups belonging to the 20 peanut chromosomes was constructed with 1819 markers, spanning a genetic distance of 2531.81 cM. Two consistent quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified qSmIA08 and qSmIA02/B02, located on chromosome A08 and A02/B02, respectively. The QTL qSmIA08 at 15.20 cM/5.03 Mbp explained 17.53% of the phenotypic variance, while qSmIA02/B02 at 4.0 cM/3.56 Mbp explained 9.06% of the phenotypic variance. The combined genotypic effects of both QTLs reduced smut incidence by 57% and were stable over the 3 years of evaluation. The genome regions containing the QTLs are rich in genes encoding proteins involved in plant defense, providing new insights into the genetic architecture of peanut smut resistance. Conclusions A major QTL and a minor QTL identified in this study provide new insights into the genetic architecture of peanut smut resistance that may aid in breeding new varieties resistant to peanut smut.

Sclerotinia minor causa el tizón del maní, enfermedad que ocasiona pérdidas en el cultivo. Este patógeno produce esclerocios como estructura de resistencia y se encuentra en forma agregada en el campo, lo que dificulta la evaluación de herramientas de control de la enfermedad. Es necesario el desarrollo de una técnica de inoculación que permita la homogeneidad de inóculo en cada unidad experimental. Los objetivos fueron: desarrollar y validar una metodología de inoculación a campo de S. minor en maní, y evaluar el comportamiento de diferentes genotipos del cultivo. Se aislaron y cuantificaron esclerocios de S. minor de muestras de suelo, se seleccionaron  Subpoblaciones y se produjo inóculo en dos medios de cultivo líquido. El inóculo generado se aplicó a campo sobre diez genotipos y se evaluó la intensidad de la enfermedad y la homogeneidad en la respuesta. El número de esclerocios en suelo fue de 0,81/100 gr antes y 2,07/100 gr después de la inoculación. S. minor creció en ambos medios de cultivo, pero el caldo papa presentó mayores ventajas. La técnica de inoculación fue exitosa, logrando que los valores de incidencia fueran homogéneos entre repeticiones. Se observaron diferencias estadísticamentesignificativas en el comportamiento de los genotipos frente a la enfermedad.

Sclerotinia blight is a soilborne disease caused by Sclerotinia minor Jagger and can produce severe decrease in yield. Cultural management strategies and chemical treatment are not completely effective; therefore, growing peanut‐resistant varieties is likely to be the most effective control method for this disease. Sclerotinia blight resistance has been identified in wild Arachis species and further transferred to peanut elite cultivars. To identify the genome regions conferring Sclerotinia blight resistance within a tetraploid genetic background, this study evaluated a population of recombinant inbred lines (RIL) with introgressed genes from three wild diploid species: A. cardenasii, A. correntina, and A. batizocoi. Two consistent quantitative trait loci (QTLs), qSbIA04 and qSbIB04 located on chromosomes A04 and B04, respectively, were identified. The QTL qSbIA04 was mapped at 56.39 cM explaining 29% of the phenotypic variance and qSbIB04 was mapped at 13.38 cM explaining 22% of the overall phenotypic variance.