BSA-Seq Approach Identified Candidate Region and Diagnostic Marker for Chilling Tolerance of High Oleic Acid Peanut at Germination Stage

High oleic acid peanut (HOAP) is extensively embraced in China because of its high nutritional value and enhanced oxidative stability. However, its dissemination has been severely constrained in high altitude and high latitude areas due to chilling stress during sowing, resulting in significant yield loss in these regions. Despite the lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying low temperature germination (LTG) in HOAP, discovering the quantitative trait loci (QTL) that confer this trait will undoubtedly benefit breeding efforts. In the present study, we identified putative genomic regions and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that govern LTG tolerance of HOAP in an F2 population derived from the cross of chilling-tolerant YH65 and chilling-sensitive FL14 using bulk segregant analysis (BSA). Analysis of ΔSNP-index and Euclidean distance (ED) value association pinpointed the overlapped region to a 2.29 Mb interval on chromosome A05. The candidate interval showed that 122 genes were significantly related to response to abiotic stress and plant–pathogen interaction. Furthermore, an SNP site associated with LTG tolerance was discovered. The SNP site was employed as a Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) marker and validated in a universal peanut panel. These findings may provide valuable insight into the molecular mechanism underpinning LTG tolerance and facilitate marker-assisted selective breeding in HOAP.