IMISUN, SURES, and CLPlus are three herbicide tolerance traits in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) which are determined by the expression of different alleles at the same locus, Ahasl1. Introgression of these genes into high yielding sunflower germplasm should be complemented through the use of molecular markers in order to unambiguously identify the different alleles involved in tolerance. The aim of this work was to present a set of allele specific molecular markers for the different

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... resistant traits of sunflower, which can be used with various technological platforms, and applied to different objectives in a breeding program. The Ahasl1 gene sequences from lines carrying different alleles for susceptibility or resistance showed single nucleotide polymorphisms and length variations for a simple sequence repeat. These differences were utilized to develop three types of PCR markers (SSRs, CAPS and SNPs) which allow the precise identification of each allele at the Ahasl1 locus. Usefulness of these markers with respect to the application of phenotypic selection for herbicide tolerance, and the strategic implementation of these techniques for developing inbred lines with herbicide resistance is discussed.