Abstract
Fertility restoration of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in Capsicum annuum is controlled by multiple alleles of Restorer-of-fertility (Rf) genes. The isolation of additional Rf genes should therefore enrich the knowledge of CMS/Rf systems and accelerate their exploitation in hybrid seed production. In this study, the fertility restorer gene CaRfm of '0601 M', a non-pungent bell pepper, was genetically mapped to a 1.2-cM region flanked by KASP markers S761 and S183. CaRfm was then physically mapped to a 128.96-Kb interval predicted from 24 recombinants with two co-segregated markers, S423 and S424. CaPPR6 encoding a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein was suggested as the most likely candidate gene for the CaRfm locus on the basis of sequence alignment as well as genotyping of tightly linked markers. In addition, molecular markers S1597 and S1609, which are immediately adjacent to CaRfm at 15.7 and 57.8-Kb respectively, were developed and applied to marker-assisted selection. The results provided friendly markers for breeding pepper restorer lines and laid the foundation for elucidating the male fertility restoration mechanism. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-021-01109-9.