1 Marker-assisted breeding in crops: wheat and bambara groundnut as two contrasting examples of progress Sean Mayes 1 , Florian Stadler 4 , Gracia Ribas-Vargas 1 , Shravani Basu 1 , Festo Massawe 2 , Aurélie Bonin 5 , Chiew Foan Chin 2 , Neil Graham 3 , Martin Broadley 1 , Sean May 3 , Andrzej Kilian 5 , Jeremy Roberts 1 , John Foulkes 1 and Sayed Azam-Ali 2 ABSTRACT Marker-assisted selection has the potential to fundamentally change the way that conventional breeding is carried out, with increased precision in determining the location of trait loci in the genome and the ability to dissect complex traits through an understanding of their genetic control. In this paper we contrast the current state of marker-assisted selection in two very different crop species. Wheat is one of the three key crops, along with maize and rice, which account for nearly 60% of human calorie intake. As such it is a major crop which has had significant research investment by both Public and Private sectors, particularly in Europe and the USA. This has led to the development of important genetic tools, including cytogenetic stocks, molecular markers and even ‘Perfect Markers’ for a number of major traits, such as Photoperiod requirement. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea [L.] Verdc) is an underutilised or ‘orphan’ crop and occupies the same ecological position within crop agriculture as the more familiar peanut (groundnut; Arachis hypogaea L) which largely displaced bambara groundnut after it was introduced by colonial powers to Africa. It is still grown widely in sub-Saharan Africa and some cultivation also occurs within South East Asia, particularly in Indonesia. It is usually grown as a subsistence and small cash crop and is generally preferred to peanut, when available. However, it has numerous disadvantages compared to peanut, as it still exists largely as genetically heterogeneous landraces, it is energy intensive to cook and there are currently few value-added products. It is, however, more drought tolerant than peanut and with current predictions for Climate Change has potential to become a more major crop and an important component of food security in many countries. In this talk we will present some of the results from our recent programmes at the University of Nottingham in wheat and bambara groundnut molecular genetics. These two species perhaps represent extremes in terms of what pre-existing resources have been developed for marker-assisted breeding work. However, both can usefully benefit from their application towards improved crop types. _______________________ 1. Plant and Crop Sciences, Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, Nottingham University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK, LE12 5RD. 2. Crop Biotechnology, Biosciences, Semenyih Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. 3. Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre, address as for 1.