Utilisation of wild Cicer in chickpea improvement - progress, constraints, and prospects

Efforts to improve the yield and quality of cultivated chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) are constrained by a low level of intraspecific genetic diversity. Increased genetic diversity can be achieved via the hybridisation of the cultivated species with the unimproved 'wild' relatives from within the 43 species of the Cicer genus. To date, the 8 species sharing an annual growth habit and chromosome number with C. arietinum have been the primary focus of screening and introgression efforts. Screening of these species has uncovered morphological characteristics and resistance to a number of abiotic and biotic stresses that are of potential value to chickpea improvement programs. Detailed analysis of protein and DNA, karyotyping, and crossability studies have begun to elucidate the relationships between the annual Cicer species. In comparison, perennial species have received little attention due to difficulties in collection, propagation, and evaluation. This review discusses the progress towards an understanding of genetic relationships between the Cicer species, and the introgression of genes from the wild Cicer species into the cultivated species.