Influence of the D genome in conferring resistance to fusarium head blight in spring wheat.

Abstract

Reciprocal crosses were made between resistant hexaploid spring wheat cultivars/lines Sumai 3, Ning8331, and 93FHB21, and susceptible tetraploids Stewart 63 and DT486 to generate 35 chromosome pentaploids. Four heads from each of five F1 pentaploid plants from each cross were screened with Fusarium graminearum for fusarium head blight (FHB) reaction. No pentaploid was as resistant to FHB as the resistant parents. Pentaploids derived from several crosses were more resistant than the susceptible parents, a few were more susceptible, and all plants from crosses with 93FHB21 failed to survive. Most viable seeds were obtained from the cross Sumai 3 × DT486. From this cross four of the five F1 pentaploid parents were fertile and 354F2 seeds derived from these four pentaploids were sown and evaluated for their FHB reaction. The majority of F2 plants from pentaploids 1 and 3had the visual appearance and level of resistance of Sumai 3, whereas progeny from pentaploids 4 and 5 were more varied morphologically and generally more susceptible. Forty-three of the screened F2 plants were tested for the presence of specific D chromosomes by wheat microsatellite analysis. There was no relationship between presence/absence of D chromosomes and FHB reaction. Twenty-four lines had all D chromosomes present of which 10 were intermediate-susceptible and 14 were resistant to FHB. Three lines, one resistant and two intermediate, had no D chromosomes. The remainder had between 1 and 6 of the D chromosomes present and ranged from resistant to susceptible in FHB reaction. It appears that FHB resistance is not conferred by the D genome of Sumai 3.