Authors: Emily Billow 1, R. Esten Mason 1, and Zachary Winn 2
1. Colorado State University, Soil and Crop Sciences, Fort Collins, Colorado
2. USDA Small Grains Genotyping Lab, Raleigh, North Carolina
Presenting Author: Emily Billow
Abstract
Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) of Triticum aestivum, commonly known as head scab, is a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. This infection causes reduced grain yield, test weight, and milling quality of the crop. Head scab can also lead to the production of harmful mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON) that negatively affect animal and human health if consumed. Recent climate changes have intensified FHB occurrences, even in regions where it was not previously reported. This includes the Great Plains region of the US, where predominantly hard winter wheat is grown.These challenges highlight the need for research focused on rapidly and effectively developing wheat varieties resistant to FHB. Genetic resistance to FHB in wheat is primarily influenced by small-to-moderate effect Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), and QTL mapping has been widely used to identify loci for Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS). Notably, the Fhb1 locus is considered a stable and valuable QTL to be utilized in MAS. While MAS is effective for traits governed by a few major genes, wheat FHB resistance requires integrating MAS for moderate effect loci with genomic prediction. This project will incorporate genome-wide marker data and historical phenotypic information to generate genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) for relevant traits. Additionally, QTL haplotypes and crossing recommendations will be developed for collaborating programs in the Great Plains region. Genomic prediction cross-validation accuracies of currently available data are variable due to small training populations. Nevertheless, this analysis demonstrates the potential of the expanding dataset to provide predictions across collaborating institutions. Ultimately, this research aims to advance FHB resistance breeding techniques, contributing to the development of improved wheat cultivars.