Serine/threonine kinase gene Stpk-V, a key member of powdery mildew resistance gene Pm21, confers powdery mildew resistance in wheat

Powdery mildew resistance gene Pm21, located on the chromosome 6V short arm of Haynaldia villosa and transferred to wheat as a 6VS.6AL translocation (T6VS.6AL), confers durable and broad-spectrum resistance to wheat powdery mildew. Pm21 has become a key gene resource for powdery mildew resistance breeding all over the world. In China, 12 wheat varieties containing Pm21 have been planted on more than 3.4 million hectares since 2002. Pm21 has been intractable to molecular genetic mapping because the 6VS does not pair and recombine with the 6AS. Moreover, all known accessions of H. villosa are immune to powdery mildew fungus. Pm21 is still defined by cytogenetics as a locus. In the present study, a putative serine and threonine protein kinase gene Stpk-V was cloned and characterized with an integrative strategy of molecular and cytogenetic techniques. Stpk-V is located on the Pm21 locus. The results of a single cell transient expression assay showed that Stpk-V could decrease the haustorium index dramatically. After the Stpk-V was transformed into a susceptible wheat variety Yang-mai158, the characterized transgenic plants showed high and broad-spectrum powdery mildew resistance similar to T6VS.6AL. Silencing of the Stpk-V by virus-induced gene silencing in both T6VS.6AL and H. villosa resulted in their increased susceptibility. Stpk-V could be induced by Bgt and exogenous H2O2, but it also mediated the increase of endogenous H2O2, leading to cell death and plant resistance when the plant was attacked by Bgt.