Authors: Jaime Knight1,2, Eduard Akhunov 1,2, Allan Fritz 3, Jessica Rupp-Noller 1
1. Kansas State University, Department of Plant Pathology, Manhattan, KS
2. Kansas State University, Wheat Genetics Resource Center, Manhattan, KS
3. Kansas State University, Department of Agronomy, Manhattan, KS
Corresponding Author: Jaime Knight, jnknight@ksu.edu
Presenting Author: Jaime Knight
Abstract
Fusarium graminearum is an economically important fungus
causing Fusarium head blight (FHB), which has become an increasing threat to
the security of global cereal production. The use of genetically resistant
cultivars is a critical tool for managing FHB; however, modern elite wheat
germplasm lacks genetic diversity, and only a limited number of known
resistance genes are currently available. The germplasm of wild species is a
diverse and underutilized source of novel alleles associated with many
important traits, including disease resistance. Approximately a third of known
FHB resistance genes originated from a wild species. Aegilops tauschii is
the donor of the D-genome in wheat and only a limited amount of Ae. tauschii
germplasm is represented in modern wheat germplasm. Four accessions of Aegilops
tauschii, that showed FHB resistance in a prior screening have been used to
develop 607 BC1F5 derived introgression lines
(ILs) in the background of adapted cultivars. In this study, we aimed to
identify resistant ILs and map underlying resistance genes. ILs were grown in Kansas
State University’s Fusarium head blight screening nursery for two seasons and phenotyped pre- and post-harvest for disease traits. 30
ILs either never headed or headed extremely late missing the disease outbreak,
resulting in only 577 ILs being analyzed. 203 ILs were found to exhibit lower
disease scores in all phenotyped traits compared to the recurrent winter wheat
accession. For FHB incidence ratings,146 of these lines were moderately
resistance, while 57 lines were resistant. 93 ILs had mycotoxin content levels
of 6.12 ppm or lower, which were approximately at least half of the recurrent
accession’s mycotoxin content levels. The primary mycotoxin present was
deoxynivalenol. Plant height was found to have negative moderate correlation
with all disease traits but deoxynivalenol content. Based on phenotypic data,
genetic resistance present in Ae. tauschii accessions was introgressed
into wheat. ILs were genotyped using low-pass whole genome sequencing, while
parental lines were whole-genome sequenced. Variant calling is currently in
progress, which will be followed by SNP imputation to identify and correct
missing regions in the sequenced introgression lines. Due to equipment failure
and a late disease outbreak, phenotypic data from the second field trial
replication cannot be used. Field trials will be replicated for a third time in
the coming spring. A genome-wide association study using the r package GAPIT v3
will be conducted to map resistance associated chromosomal regions. KASP
markers for resistant regions will be developed.
