Characterization of the Resistance to Powdery Mildew and Leaf Rust Carried by the Bread Wheat Cultivar Victo

Leaf rust and powdery mildew are two important foliar diseases in wheat. A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, obtained by crossing two bread wheat cultivars ('Victo' and 'Spada'), was evaluated for resistance to the two pathogens at seedling stage. Upon developing a genetic map of 8726 SNP loci, linkage analysis identified three resistance Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs), with 'Victo' contributing the resistant alleles to all loci. One major QTL (QPm.gb-7A) was detected in response to Blumeria graminis on chromosome 7A, which explained 90% of phenotypic variation (PV). The co-positional relationship with known powdery mildew (Pm) resistance loci suggested that a new source of resistance was identified in T. aestivum. Two QTLs were detected in response to Puccinia triticina: a major gene on chromosome 5D (QLr.gb-5D), explaining a total PV of about 59%, and a minor QTL on chromosome 2B (QLr.gb-2B). A positional relationship was observed between the QLr.gb-5D with the known Lr1 gene, but polymorphisms were found between the cloned Lr1 and the corresponding 'Victo' allele, suggesting that QLr.gb-5D could represent a new functional Lr1 allele. Lastly, upon anchoring the QTL on the T. aestivum reference genome, candidate genes were hypothesized on the basis of gene annotation and in silico gene expression analysis.

Automated summary

Resistance Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) to leaf rust and powdery mildew were identified in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of wheat, with potential new sources of resistance being discovered. Major QTLs were found in response to Blumeria graminis and Puccinia triticina, possibly representing novel functional resistance genes. Polymorphisms between known resistance loci and identified QTLs suggest the presence of new allelic variants in wheat.