Development of a sequence-specific PCR marker linked to the Ku gene which removes the vernalization requirement in narrow-leafed lupin

Wild types of Lupinus angustifolius require vernalization to promote flowering. Modern domesticated cultivars carry the early-flowering gene Ku which removes this requirement. A microsatellite-anchored fragment length polymorphism marker was identified as co-segregating with the Ku gene in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a domesticated x wild-type cross. DNA sequencing showed that the marker contained a 7 bp insertion/deletion polymorphism, as well as a single nucleotide polymorphism. A pair of sequence-specific primers was designed and successfully converted the size polymorphism into a simple polymerase chain reaction based co-dominant marker. This marker is closely linked to the Ku gene, as it co-segregates with the Ku phenotyping in a population consisting of 106 RILs.