Tika Adhikari (he/him/his)
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Bode A. Olukolu
Assistant Professor
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Anju Pandey, PhD Candidate
Graduate Research Assistant
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Ashley N. Philbrick
Research Associate
North Carolina State University
RALEIGH, North Carolina, United States
Dilip R. Panthee
Associate Professor
North Carolina State University
Mills River, North Carolina, United States
Reza Shekasteband
Research Scholar
North Carolina State University
Mills River, North Carolina, United States
Randolph G. Gardner
Professor Emeritus
North Carolina State University
Mills River, North Carolina, United States
Ralph A. Dean
Professor
North Carolina State University
RALEIGH, North Carolina, United States
Frank J. Louws
Professor
North Carolina State University
RALEIGH, North Carolina, United States
Verticillium wilt (VW), caused by the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae Kleb., poses a significant threat to tomato production. While fumigation can be effective in managing VW, developing resistance in tomato is crucial for a long-term and sustainable solution. This study evaluated 250 diverse tomato accessions to identify genetic variation for resistance to V. dahliae race 3 and evaluate the potential of genomic selection in breeding for resistance to VW. Results showed that less than 2.5% of the tomato accessions exhibited resistance to VW. A reduced representation sequencing method, OmeSeq-qRRS, generated 42,941 high-quality SNP and INDEL markers. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified seven loci associated with defense-related and cell wall modification genes on chromosomes 3, 5, 7, and 10. Using the top 100 GWAS hits and avoiding marker collinearity, GWAS-assisted genomic prediction (GWABLUP) improved predictive ability by as much as 16.4%, revealing the significance of both additive and dominance effects. This highlights that genomic selection can enhance breeding for resistance to V. dahliae race 3. Overall, these findings offer valuable insights into the genetic basis of VW resistance and display the potential of genomic-assisted breeding strategies for developing stable resistance to V. dahliae in tomato.