Poster # 512

Melissa Winchester ¹, William Reck ¹, Amanda Noble ¹, Eric Olson ¹
1. Michigan State University, Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, East Lansing, MI
Corresponding Author: Eric Olson, eolson@msu.edu

Olson, Eric

eolson@msu.edu

Early generation selection for disease resistance in segregating populations can increase the frequency of resistance alleles among derived inbred lines. A set of 12 populations segregating for resistance to wheat stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Erikss. and 26 populations segregating for resistance to Fusarium head blight caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe. were split into replicated experimental groups undergoing selection for disease resistance and replicated control groups without selection. Selection for disease resistance was applied under greenhouse conditions at the F2 and F3 generations by culling susceptible plants and retaining resistant plants each generation while control populations were advanced without selection. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were randomly derived from replicates of selected and control populations at the F4 generation. A higher frequency of disease-resistant RILs were derived from populations undergoing selection in contrast to control populations where no disease selection pressure was applied. Selection signatures were detected using a Fisher’s Exact Test of allele counts between RILs derived from selected and control populations. This study demonstrates phenotypic selection for disease resistance at the F2 and F3 generations increases the frequency of disease-resistant lines derived at the F4 generation and shifts the frequency of alleles associated with disease resistance.

© Copyright 2025 by individual authors. All rights reserved. No part of this abstract or paper publication may be reproduced without prior permission from the applicable author(s).