Shankar, M., Walker, E., Golzar, H., Loughman, R., Wilson, R. E., and Francki, M. G. 2008. Quantitative trait loci for seedling and adult plant resistance to Stagonospora nodorum in wheat. Phytopathology 98:886-893.Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB) caused by Stagonospora nodorum is a severe disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in many areas of the world. S. nodorum affects both seedling and adult plants causing necrosis of leaf and glume tissue, inhibiting photosynthetic capabilities, and reducing grain yield. The aims of this study were to evaluate disease response of 280 doubled haploid (DH) individuals derived from a cross between resistant (6HRWSN125) and susceptible (WAWHT2074) genotypes, compare quantitative trait loci (QTL) for seedling and adult plant resistance in two consecutive years, and assess the contribution of QTL on grain weight. Flag leaves and glumes of individuals from the DH population were inoculated with mixed isolates of S. nodorum at similar maturity time to provide accurate disease evaluation independent of morphological traits and identify true resistance for QTL analysis. Fungicide protected and inoculated plots were used to measure relative grain weight (RGW) as a yield-related trait under pathogen infection. The lack of similar QTL and little or no correlation in disease scores indicate different genes control seedling and adult plant disease and independent genes control flag leaf and glume resistance. This study consistently identified a QTL on chromosome 2DL for flag leaf resistance (QSnl.daw-2D) and 4BL for glume resistance (QSng.daw-4B) from the resistant parent, 6HRWSN125, explaining 4 to 19% of the phenotypic variation at each locus. A total of 5 QTL for RGW were consistently detected, where two were in the same marker interval for QSnl.daw-2D and QSng.daw-4B indicating the contribution of these QTL to yield related traits. Therefore, RGW measurement in QTL analysis could be used as a reliable indicator of grain yield affected by S. nodorum infection.

Phomopsis stem blight (PSB) caused by Diaporthe toxica is a major disease in narrow-leafed lupin ( Lupinus angustifolius L.). The F(2) progeny and the parental plants from a cross between a breeding line 75A:258 (containing a single dominant resistance gene Phr1 against the disease) and a commercial cultivar Unicrop (susceptible to the disease) were used for development of molecular markers linked to the disease resistance gene. Two pairs of co-dominant DNA polymorphisms were detected using the microsatellite-anchored fragment length polymorphism (MFLP) technique. Both pairs of polymorphisms were isolated from the MFLP gels, re-amplified by PCR, sequenced, and converted into co-dominant, sequence-specific and PCR-based markers. Linkage analysis by MAPMAKER suggested that one marker (Ph258M2) was 5.7 centiMorgans (cM) from Phr1, and the other marker (Ph258M1) was 2.1 cM from Ph258M2 but further away from Phr1. These markers are suitable for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in lupin breeding.

Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB) is a significant disease in some wheat-growing regions of the world. Resistance in wheat to Stagonospora nodorum is complex, whereby genes for seedling, flag leaf, and glume resistance are independent. The aims of this study were to identify alternative genes for flag leaf resistance, to compare and contrast with known quantitative trait loci (QTL) for SNB resistance, and to determine the potential role of host-specific toxins for SNB QTL. Novel QTL for flag leaf resistance were identified on chromosome 2AS inherited from winter wheat parent ‘P92201D5’ and chromosome 1BS from spring wheat parent ‘EGA Blanco’. The chromosomal map position of markers associated with QTL on 1BS and 2AS indicated that they were unlikely to be associated with known host–toxin insensitivity loci. A QTL on chromosome 5BL inherited from EGA Blanco had highly significant association with markers fcp001 and fcp620 based on disease evaluation in 2007 and, therefore, is likely to be associated with Tsn1-ToxA insensitivity for flag leaf resistance. However, fcp001 and fcp620 were not associated with a QTL detected based on disease evaluation in 2008, indicating two linked QTL for flag leaf resistance with multiple genes residing on 5BL. This study identified novel QTL and their effects in controlling flag leaf SNB resistance.

Resistance to stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB) in glumes of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), caused by Phaeosphaeria (Stagonospora anamorph) nodorum was investigated in a recombinant‐inbred (RI) population. The Purdue University winter wheat breeding lines P91193D1 and P92201D5, unrelated by parentage but both exhibiting partial SNB resistance, were crossed to develop 254 RI lines by single‐seed descent (SSD) from a random population of F2 plants, to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling SNB resistance in wheat glumes. The RI population, together with parent lines, was phenotyped for glume resistance to SNB under field conditions in F8:10 at Evansville, Vincennes, and Lafayette, IN, in 2003; in F7:9 at South Perth, Australia, in 2004; and in F8:10 in greenhouse‐grown inoculated tests at Lafayette in 2003 and 2004. Two QTLs for resistance to SNB in glumes were identified: QSng.pur‐2DL.1 from P91193D1 and QSng.pur‐2DL.2 from P92201D5. The QTL QSng.pur‐2DL.1 explained from 12.3% of the phenotypic variation for resistance in southern Indiana (Evansville and Vincennes) to 38.1% at South Perth; QSng.pur‐2DL.2 accounted for 6.9 and 11.2% of the phenotypic variation in Indiana and South Perth, respectively. This study is the first report of SNB glume blotch resistance in which the same QTLs were identified in tests on different continents where Stagonospora nodorum populations are probably genetically diverse.

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An uncharacterized source of seedling resistance to Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici was identified in an advanced wheat breeding line WAWHT2046. Genetic analysis based on a WAWHT2046/Carnamah-derived double haploid (DH) population demonstrated monogenic inheritance of seedling stripe rust resistance in WAWHT2046. The gene controlling stripe rust resistance in line WAWHT2046 was tentatively designated YrWA. The chromosome 5AL located awn inhibitor gene B1, possessed by WAWHT2046, also showed monogenic inheritance when the DH population was scored for the presence and absence of awns. Joint segregation analysis at the B1 and YrWA loci indicated genetic linkage between the two loci. A recombination value of 12.2 cM was computed using Mapmanager. This association located YrWA in the chromosome arm 5AL. Molecular mapping using microsatellite markers placed YrWA distal to B1. All molecular markers mapped proximal to the awn inhibitor locus B1. As no other stripe rust resistance gene is reported to be located in the chromosome arm 5AL, YrWA was permanently designated as Yr34. Yr34 produced an intermediate (23C) seedling infection type and expressed very low stripe rust response (10R-MR) on adult plants in the field, similar to the resistance gene Yr17. In addition to Yr34, this mapping population segregated for three genetically independent adult plant stripe rust resistance genes. The detection of DH lines with completely susceptible response, higher than that shown by the Yr34-lacking parent Carnamah, suggested that both parents contributed adult plant resistance. The use of WAWHT2046 as a parent in breeding programs would also contribute APR in addition to Yr34.

A collection of 253 synthetic hexaploid wheats (SHWs) produced from 192 Aegilops tauschii accessions and 39 elite durum varieties were studied to identify, characterise, and evaluate potentially untapped diversity of disease resistance in wheat. The diseases for which resistance was sought included cereal cyst nematode (CCN), root lesion nematode (RLN), Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB), Septoria tritici blotch (STB), and the 3 rusts, leaf rust, stem rust, and stripe rust, all important diseases of bread wheat worldwide, which can severely reduce wheat yield and quality. The SHWs exhibited a wide spectrum of resistance to the 8 pathogens. The frequency of disease-resistant SHWs ranged from 1% for one species of RLN (Pratylenchus neglectus), 3% and 10% for Septoria nodorum leaf and glume blotch, 10% for seedling resistance to yellow leaf spot, 16% for CCN, 21% for the second species of RLN (Pratylenchus thornei), 73% for Septoria tritici blotch, and 15%, 40%, and 24% for leaf rust, stem rust, and stripe rust, respectively. Five SHWs, Aus26860, Aus30258, Aus30294, Aus30301, and Aus30304, exhibited high levels of resistance to CCN, YLP, STB, LR, and SR, while 56 SHWs showed resistance to either 3 or 4 diseases. The genetics of resistance to CCN in some of the SHWs revealed that some of the accessions carry the same CCN gene(s) against pathotype Ha13, while others may carry different resistance gene(s). Additional studies were carried out to understand the relationship between the resistances identified in SHWs and the ones already present in common wheat, in particular the resistance genes Cre1 and Cre3 against CCN. The use of perfect markers associated with Cre1 and Cre3 suggested that some SHWs may carry a new CCN resistance gene(s), which could be deployed in breeding programs to increase the diversity of available resistance. The identification of SHWs with resistance to a range of diseases provides an opportunity to generate genetic knowledge and resistant germplasm to be used in future variety development.