the alternative bulk (Mackay and Ca

the alternative bulk (Mackay and Caligari 2000).
Further saturation of cassava genome with more
markers, most especially the SNP markers being
currently developed and validated may therefore lead
to detection of QTLs linked to EB in the three
populations as well as detection of more linked QTLs
in the remaining six populations.
Collard et al. (2005) stated that QTLs accounting for
more than 10 %of phenotypic variation (R2) are major
QTLs. In this study, seven of the nine QTLs to which
the markers are linked explained for 16 % or more of
the phenotypic variation indicating that the seven
markers are linked to major QTLs associated with EB
in cassava. As noted in earlier study by Gomez et al.
(2009), BSA also allowed identification of QTLs
linked to EB in cassava by allowing analysis in absence
of a linkage map and by reducing the effort required to
identify linkage of the markers with EB in this study.
Five SSR markers identified in this study were
found on the existing cassava genomic map (a genetic
linkage map of a cassava backcross based on a B1P2