<div>Background: Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut is a serious health concern for both humans and ruminants. Genetic resistance is a viable, cost-effective and eco-friendly approach to manage aflatoxin contamination. Molecular markers particularly SSRs have been proved to be very effective in Marker Assisted Selection. 
 
Methods: In this study, single marker analysis using 30 SSR markers in 66 groundnut genotypes was executed to know if any selected SSRs were linked to in vitro seed colonization by Aspergillus flavus (IVSCAF) and/or aflatoxin contamination. 
 
Result: Single marker analysis revealed significant association of few SSR markers with tolerance to IVSCAF and/or aflatoxin contamination. Four markers viz., GM-1954, GM-1883, pPGPseq-2F05 and S-03 were found to be associated with in vitro seed colonization by A. flavus. The marker GM-1954 has shown a maximum R2 value of 14.07 indicating that 14.07 per cent phenotypic variation for IVSCAF has been explained by this marker (F=0.002**). Further, three markers viz., S-21, S-80 and GM-1954 were found to be associated with tolerance to aflatoxin contamination. It is evident from the results that, the marker GM 1954 has shown association with both IVSCAF as well as aflatoxin contamination. However, the R2 value of GM 1954, which explains the phenotypic variation for aflatoxin contamination, was less (6.21) as compared to that of IVSCAF (14.07).</div>

<div>Single Marker Analysis in Groundnut for Tolerance to in vitro Seed Colonization by Aspergillus flavus and Aflatoxin Contamination</div>