QTL analysis of resistance to Fusarium head blight in Swiss winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat is a widespread and destructive disease which occurs in humid and semi-humid areas. FHB epidemics can cause serious yield and quality losses under favorable climatic conditions, but the major concern is the contamination of grains with mycotoxins. Resistance to FHB is quantitatively inherited and greatly influenced by the environment. Its evaluation is costly and time-consuming. The genetic basis of FHB resistance has mainly been studied in spring wheat. The objective of this study was to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for resistance to FHB in a population of 240 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between the two Swiss winter wheat cultivars Arina (resistant) and Forno (susceptible). The RILs were genotyped with microsatellite and RFLP markers. The resulting genetic map comprises 380 loci and spans 3,086 cM. The 240 RILs were evaluated for resistance to FHB in six field trials over 3 years. Composite interval mapping (CIM) analyses carried out on FHB AUDPC (i.e. mean values across six environments) revealed eight QTLs which altogether explained 47% of the phenotypic variance. The three main QTLs were mapped on the long arms of chromosomes 6D ( R(2)=22%), 5B ( R(2)=14%) and 4A ( R(2)=10%). The QTL detected on 5B originated from the susceptible parent Forno. Other QTLs with smaller effects on FHB resistance were detected on chromosomes 2AL, 3AL, 3BL, 3DS and 5AL.

Cereal resistance to Fusarium head blight and possibilities of its improvement through breeding

“…Promising sources of moderate resistance to FHB (better adapted to the conditions that are prevalent in Europe) may be the Swiss cultivar Arina (Paillard et al 2004), German cultivars Cansas, Petrus and Dream (Klahr et al 2007;Schmolke et al 2005), French cultivars Renan (Gervais et al 2003) and Apache , Dutch cultivar Romanus (Badea et al 2008) and Romanian cultivar Fundulea F201R (Ittu et al 2002;Shen et al 2003b). Using the cultivars Centenaire, Tulsa, Tuareg, Elegant and Arina as sources of moderate type II FHB resistance, specific hybrid combinations were identified with this resistance type at the level equal to or more resistant than the cultivar Arina (Zwart et al (2008b).…”

Microsatellite marker-assisted selection of fusarium head blight resistance in backcrossed Japanese winter wheat lines

“…FHB resistance is largely limited to spring wheat (Van Ginkel et al 1996, Ban andSuenaga 2000), and known FHB-resistant winter wheat displays only a moderate resistance (Paillard et al 2004, Liu et al 2005, Schmolke et al 2005. Due to the need to maintain winter hardiness traits and the complex inheritance of FHB resistance, which are also considerably influenced by environmental conditions, breeding for FHB resistance in winter wheat is difficult.…”

Plant translational genomics: from model species to crops

“…Management of these pathogens is difficult due to their endophytic growth and persistence in soil, making genetic resistance to Fusarium a demanded alternative. Fusarium resistance in tomato and other Solanaceae species is race-cultivar specific (vertical resistance) whereas resistance to head blight in monocots is of a completely different type (horizontal resistance) governed by yet unknown genes (Eeuwijk et al 1995, Mesterhazy et al 1999, Paillard et al 2004.…”

“…Complete resistance has not been discovered yet but a major QTL (Qfhs.ndsu-3BS locus) is located on the short arm of chromosome 3B (3BS) in different populations (for references Paillard et al 2004;Snijders 2004;Yang ZhuPing et al 2005). A fine map spanning 0.2 to 1.5 cm of this QTL locus of wheat was generated by Liu et al (2005) and compared with syntenic regions in rice (1S) and barley (3HS).…”