Chromosomal locations of stem and leaf rust resistance genes from Ae. caudata, Ae. searsii and Ae. Mutica

The wild relatives of wheat represent a vast resource of potentially useful genes for agriculture. The genus Aegilops has provided several rust resistance genes used in commercial cultivars. Here we report progress on mapping of potentially new stem and leaf rust resistance from Ae. caudata, Ae. searsii and Ae. mutica (Amblyopyrum muticum). Addition lines derived from the amphiploids Alcedo/ Ae. caudata, TA3368, CS/ Ae. mutica, TA8024 (both from Wheat Genetics Resource Center, Kansas State University, USA) and CS/ Ae. searsii TE10 (kindly provided by Dr Moshe Feldman, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel) were produced after backcrossing the amphiploids with Australian cv. Angas or Westonia. Backcrossed generations were screened for stem rust and leaf rust responses and both resistant and susceptible plants were sampled for DNA marker analysis. Stem rust resistant plants derived from the Ae. caudata amphiploid and leaf rust resistant plants derived from the Ae. searsii amphiploid showed the presence of non-wheat marker bands after hybridizing restricted genomic DNA with the Triticeae group 5 RFLP probe PSR128, and after PCR using EST-based primers specific for Triticeae group 5. Susceptible plants did not show those non-wheat molecular markers. Hence, stem rust resistance from Ae. caudata was allocated to chromosome 5C, and the resistance gene is temporarily named SrAec1t. Leaf rust resistance from Ae. searsii was allocated in a similar manner to chromosome 5S^s, and is temporarily named LrAesr1t. Leaf rust resistance transferred from Ae. mutica was traced to a 6T chromosome after associating resistance with the presence of Triticeae group 6 RFLP probes (including BCD001, BCD269, BCD276, BCD1426, CDO772, CDO1380, WG933) and that gene is temporarily named LrAmm1t. The addition lines involving the 5C, 5S^s and 6T chromosomes were crossed with Sears’ ph1b mutant to induce homoeologous recombination with related wheat chromosomes.