Genome-wide association mapping revealed syntenic loci QFhb-4AL and QFhb-5DL for Fusarium head blight resistance in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wenjing Hu,Hongya Wu,Zhengning Jiang,Yeyu Liu,Jian Liu,Chengbin Lu,Junchan Wang,Chunmei Zhang,Dongsheng Li,Yong Zhang,Derong Gao

doi:10.1186/s12870-019-2177-0

Wenjing Hu, Hongya Wu + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-019-2177-0

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Abstract

BackgroundFusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a major threat to wheat production and food security worldwide. Breeding stably and durably resistant cultivars is the most effective approach for managing and controlling the disease. The success of FHB resistance breeding relies on identification of an effective resistant germplasm. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the high-density wheat 90 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays to better understand the genetic basis of FHB resistance in natural population and identify associated molecular markers.ResultsThe resistance to FHB fungal spread along the rachis (Type II resistance) was evaluated on 171 wheat cultivars in the 2016–2017 (abbr. as 2017) and 2017–2018 (abbr. as 2018) growing seasons. Using Illumina Infinum iSelect 90 K SNP genotyping data, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 26 loci (88 marker-trait associations), which explained 6.65–14.18% of the phenotypic variances. The associated loci distributed across all chromosomes except 2D, 6A, 6D and 7D, with those on chromosomes 1B, 4A, 5D and 7A being detected in both years. New loci for Type II resistance were found on syntenic genomic regions of chromsome 4AL (QFhb-4AL, 621.85–622.24 Mb) and chromosome 5DL (QFhb-5DL, 546.09–547.27 Mb) which showed high collinearity in gene content and order. SNP markers wsnp_JD_c4438_5568170 and wsnp_CAP11_c209_198467 of 5D, reported previously linked to a soil-borne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV) resistance gene, were also associated with FHB resistance in this study.ConclusionThe syntenic FHB resistant loci and associated SNP markers identified in this study are valuable for FHB resistance breeding via marker-assisted selection.

Highlights

Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a major threat to wheat production and food security worldwide
We report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis of FHB resistance using a set of 171 common wheat cultivars with 90 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping and 2 year’s phenotyping data
Population structure analysis To estimate the sub-populations of the 171 wheat cultivars, population structure analysis was performed using 1676 polymorphic SNP markers distributing on 21 wheat chromosomes with r2 values > 0.2

Summary

Introduction

Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a major threat to wheat production and food security worldwide. Many quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been identified for multiple types of FHB resistance in wheat with different magnitudes of effects [14,15,16,17]. Pyramiding Fhb and other major FHB resistance QTL into elite cultivars using MAS could be crucial for breeding new wheat varieties with better resistance to FHB [4, 24]. Several cultivars such as Yangmai158, Yangmai Yangmai, Yangmai, and Yangmai in the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Valleys with moderate resistance to FHB have been approved to be released and become main cultivars [25]. Discovering more FHB-resistant germplasms and new FHB-resistant loci is essential for breeding wheat varieties with better FHB resistance

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