genetics

A diverse set of winter wheat germplasm was screened for resistance to stem rust in large-scale trials in Kenya and Turkey during 2009-16. The study aimed to select resistant material and characterize types of resistance and possible genes, as well as evaluate agronomic traits and resistance to other diseases to select superior variety candidates and parental lines. The study material was comprised of various Facultative and Winter Wheat Observation Nurseries (FAWWON), which are developed and distributed by the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (www.iwwip.org) in Turkey. More than 1600 global accessions were screened, with most evaluated for two years. Based on stem rust data from Kenya, more than 400 genotypes were identified exhibiting adequate levels of resistance to the Ug99 race group. The highest number of resistant lines originated from IWWIP (~170), USA (~100), Russia (~40), Iran (~30), Romania (~20), and South Africa (~20). Material was also tested at two sites in Turkey: Haymana (artificial inoculation) and Kastamonu (natural infection). There was no significant correlation between stem rust severities in Kenya and in Turkey, due to differences in stem rust pathotypes. However, a set of germplasm (more than 100 entries) has been identified as resistant in both countries. This set represents promising material as variety candidates and parental lines; another study is currently identifying the genes controlling the stem rust resistance in this population. IWWIP distributed stem rust resistant germplasm to its global collaborators during 2010-2015, in response to the threat from the Ug99 race group. New resistant germplasm combining broad adaptation, high yields, and resistance to other diseases is available on request.

Elite barley breeding lines from the Australian Northern Region Barley Breeding Program were evaluated at the seedling and adult growth stages for resistance to leaf rust (LR) caused by Puccinia hordei. F3:5 lines derived from parental germplasm of different geographic origins were screened in the glasshouse and field spanning four years of trials. The 2009 and 2011 breeding populations (BP1 and BP2) comprised 360 lines and were genotyped with 3,244 polymorphic diversity arrays technology (DArT) markers. The 2012 and 2013 breeding populations (BP3 and BP4) comprised 320 lines genotyped with the DArT GBS array (DArTseq), providing 15,400 high quality polymorphic markers. Association mapping (AM) using the DArT/DArT-seq datasets and phenotypic data from 15 independent LR response assays identified a number of genomic regions associated with resistance. The BP1 and BP2 study detected a total of 15 QTL; 5 QTL co-located with catalogued LR resistance genes (Rph1, Rph3/19, Rph8/14/15, Rph20, and Rph21), 6 QTL aligned with previously reported genomic regions and 4 QTL (3 on chromosome 1H and 1 on 7H) were novel. Markers in common between the DArT and DArTseq datasets enabled integration of mapping results for LR response across the four breeding populations and all QTL detected were visualised on a single map for validation. The adult plant resistance (APR) locus Rph20 was the only region detected in all field environments. Markers and their associated sequences identified in this study will be useful for building QTL combinations involving Rph20, thereby providing stable LR resistance in improved barley cultivars. We will also highlight the advantages of AM using breeding germplasm over traditional bi-parental mapping approaches that underutilise genetic diversity and divert valuable resources into populations of low breeding value.

Our research objective is to identify new resistance genes in cultivated and wild tetraploid wheats that are effective against race TTKSK and other Pgt races, and could be utilized in durum breeding. We characterized 7,000 durum and 360 emmer accessions for field resistance at Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Accessions with resistant to moderately resistant responses in multiple field evaluations were characterized at the seedling stage for resistance to races TTKSK, TRTTF, TTTTF, JRCQC, TKTTF, and an additional six representative U.S. races. We identified 208 durum and 28 emmer accessions resistant to moderately resistant in all field and seedling evaluations. A search for resistance through seedling evaluations was also conducted on wild emmer (840 accessions) and four cultivated tetraploids (Persian, Polish, Oriental, and Pollard wheats, 560 accessions). About 20% of the accessions were resistant to race TTKSK. Thirty-six resistant accessions of cultivated and wild tetraploids were selected to investigate the genetics of TTKSK and TRTTF resistance. Results from evaluating F2 and F2:3 generations from biparental crosses revealed that resistance to race TTKSK in various subspecies of T. turgidum was conferred mostly by one or two genes with dominant and recessive actions. Additional resistance genes were identified when populations were evaluated against race TRTTF. A bulk segregant analysis approach is being used to map the resistance genes in selected resistant parents using the 90K SNP platform.

During the past 15 years, significant efforts have been directed to develop the grass species Brachypodium distachyon as a genetically tractable model for monocot plants, especially economically valuable cereals such as wheat, barley and oat. Such efforts have led to an increasing availability of genomic, genetic and bioinformatics tools designed to bypass the experimental challenges faced when addressing important biological questions in complex systems. Moreover, such advances may translate in the use of other valuable species of Brachypodium (e.g., B. hybridum), which are not nearly as well characterized as B. distachyon. Given the 2050 global food demands and needs to increase grain production we seek to develop innovative and sustainable approaches to decrease crop yield losses due to rust fungi. One possible strategy is the use of transgenic plants harboring non-host resistance-related genes from closely related species. B. distachyon and B. hybridum can serve as potential sources to engineer plant resistance against highly destructive rust fungi, such as Puccinia graminis and P. coronata. Advancing our understanding of non-host resistance in monocot species has been a slow process. However, the amenability of Brachypodium as a model system offers a means to accelerate scientific discovery of factors controlling non-host pathogen interactions involving stem and crown rust fungi. In a multi-pronged approach, we are leveraging genetic and genomic tools, as well as generating new resources to provide foundational knowledge in order to support plant genetic engineering programs.