Abstract
Most of the commercial varieties of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) derivedfrom the Timor hybrid (TH) have been shown to contain major genesfor coffee leaf rust (CLR) resistance. To identify markers tightly linkedto such genes, an F2 mapping population derived from a cross between‘Caturra’ (susceptible variety) and the TH-derived DI.200 line (highlyresistant) was generated. Using expressed sequence information and abioinformatics approach, both targeted region amplified polymorphism(TRAPs) markers and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers wereidentified. Phenotypic evaluations in the field and under controlled conditions confirmed the existence of one quantitative trait locus for CLRresistance. Four candidate SSR markers were associated with highCLR resistance. They spanning a region of 2.5 cM designated QCLR_4located within chromosome 4 of the international C. canephora map.The presence of this region was confirmed in a set of elite lines andcommercial varieties. The QCLR_4 region corresponds to a new andgenetically independent SH locus that could potentially be useful ingene pyramiding with other genes to enhance rust resistance in THderivatives.