Fusarium Head Blight Resistance QTL in the Spring Wheat Cross Kenyon/86ISMN 2137

Curt A Mccartney,Jeannie Gilbert,Colin W Hiebert,Richard A Martin,George Fedak,Anita L Brûlé-Babel,Brent D Mccallum,Curtis J Pozniak

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.01542

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a very important disease of wheat globally. Damage caused by F. graminearum includes reduced grain yield, reduced grain functional quality, and results in the presence of the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol in Fusarium-damaged kernels. The development of FHB resistant wheat cultivars is an important component of integrated management. The objective of this study was to identify QTL for FHB resistance in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of the spring wheat cross Kenyon/86ISMN 2137. Kenyon is a Canadian spring wheat, while 86ISMN 2137 is an unrelated spring wheat. The RIL population was evaluated for FHB resistance in six FHB nurseries. Nine additive effect QTL for FHB resistance were identified, six from Kenyon and three from 86ISMN 2137. Rht8 and Ppd-D1a co-located with two FHB resistance QTL on chromosome arm 2DS. A major QTL for FHB resistance from Kenyon (QFhb.crc-7D) was identified on chromosome 7D. The QTL QFhb.crc-2D.4 from Kenyon mapped to the same region as a FHB resistance QTL from Wuhan-1 on chromosome arm 2DL. This result was unexpected since Kenyon does not share common ancestry with Wuhan-1. Other FHB resistance QTL on chromosomes 4A, 4D, and 5B also mapped to known locations of FHB resistance. Four digenic epistatic interactions were detected for FHB resistance, which involved eight QTL. None of these QTL were significant based upon additive effect QTL analysis. This study provides insight into the genetic basis of native FHB resistance in Canadian spring wheat.

Highlights

Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe (teleomorph: Gibberella zeae (Schwein.) Petch), is one of the most serious diseases of wheat
Histograms for anthesis date, plant height, visual rating index (VRI), FHB incidence, and FHB severity from each FHB nursery are presented in Supplementary Figures S1–S5, respectively
This study is the first study of native FHB resistance in western Canadian spring wheat

Summary

Introduction

Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe (teleomorph: Gibberella zeae (Schwein.) Petch), is one of the most serious diseases of wheat. FHB lowers grain yield, grain quality, and contaminates grain with the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, and its acetylated derivatives 3-ADON and 15-ADON (Ward et al, 2008). FHB Resistance QTL in Kenyon/86ISMN 2137 host and any humans and animals consuming contaminated grain (Proctor et al, 1995; Rocha et al, 2005). FHB has been a problem in eastern Canadian wheat since the 1980s, and only became a significant problem in western Canada in 1993, in the province of Manitoba (Gilbert and Tekauz, 2000). In 2014, FHB caused substantial damage in the province of Saskatchewan (https://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/str-rst/fusarium/ data/frequency-en.htm, accessed 25 April 2016), which had been largely unaffected by FHB until 2014

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