Rmg10, a Novel Wheat Blast Resistance Gene Derived from Aegilops tauschii.

Wheat blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae (syn. Magnaporthe oryzae) pathotype Triticum (MoT), is a devastating disease that can result in up to 100% yield loss in affected fields. To find new resistance genes against wheat blast, we screened 199 accessions of Aegilops tauschii, the D genome progenitor of common wheat (Triticum aestivum), by seedling inoculation assays with Brazilian MoT isolate Br48 and found 14 resistant accessions. A synthetic hexaploid wheat line (Ldn/KU-2097) derived from a cross between the T. turgidum 'Langdon' (Ldn) and resistant A. tauschii accession KU-2097 exhibited resistance in seedlings and spikes against Br48. In an F2 population derived from 'Chinese Spring' × Ldn/KU-2097, resistant and susceptible individuals segregated in a 3:1 ratio, suggesting that the resistance from KU-2097 is controlled by a single dominant gene. We designated this gene Rmg10. Genetic mapping using an F2:3 population from the same cross mapped the RMG10 locus to the short arm of chromosome 2D. Rmg10 was ineffective against Bangladesh isolates but effective against Brazilian isolates. Field tests in Bolivia showed increased spike resistance in a synthetic octaploid wheat line produced from a cross between common wheat cultivar 'Gladius' and KU-2097. These results suggest that Rmg10 would be beneficial in farmers' fields in South America.

Identification of Rmg11 in Tetraploid Wheat as a New Blast Resistance Gene with Tolerance to High Temperature.

Wheat blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae pathotype Triticum has spread to Asia (Bangladesh) and Africa (Zambia) from the endemic region of South America. Wheat varieties with durable resistance are needed, but very limited resistance resources are currently available. After screening tetraploid wheat accessions, we found an exceptional accession St19 (Triticum dicoccum, KU-114). Primary leaves of St19 were resistant not only to Brazilian isolate Br48 (a carrier of Type eI of AVR-Rmg8) but also to Br48ΔA8, an AVR-Rmg8 disruptant of Br48, even at 30°C, suggesting that the resistance of St19 is tolerant to high temperature and controlled by a gene or genes other than Rmg8. When an F2 population derived from a cross between St19 and St30 (a susceptible accession of T. paleocolchicum, KU-191) was inoculated with Br48, resistant and susceptible seedlings segregated in a 3:1 ratio, indicating that resistance of St19 is conferred by a single gene. We designated this gene Rmg11. Molecular mapping revealed that the RMG11 locus is located on the short arm of chromosome 7A. Rmg11 is effective not only against other two Brazilian isolates (Br5 and Br116.5) but also against Bangladeshi isolates (T-108 and T-109) at the seedling stage. At the heading stage, lines containing Rmg11 were highly susceptible to the Bangladeshi isolates but moderately resistant to the Brazilian isolates. Stacking of Rmg11 with Rmg8 and the 2NS segment is highly recommended to achieve durable wheat blast resistance.

Breeding of a Near-Isogenic Wheat Line Resistant to Wheat Blast at Both Seedling and Heading Stages Through Incorporation of Rmg8.

Wheat blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) has been transmitted from South America to Bangladesh and Zambia and is now spreading in these countries. To prepare against its further spread to Asian countries, we introduced Rmg8, a gene for resistance to wheat blast, into a Japanese elite cultivar, Chikugoizumi (ChI), through recurrent backcrosses and established ChI near-isogenic lines, #2-1-10 with the Rmg8/Rmg8 genotype and #4-2-10 with the rmg8/rmg8 genotype. A molecular analysis suggested that at least 96.6% of the #2-1-10 genome was derived from the recurrent parent ChI. The #2-1-10 line was resistant to MoT not only in primary leaves at the seedling stage but also in spikes and flag leaves at the heading stage. The strength of the resistance in spikes of this Rmg8 carrier was comparable to that of a carrier of the 2NS segment, which has been the only genetic resource released to farmers' fields for wheat blast resistance. On the other hand, the 2NS resistance was not expressed on leaves at the seedling stage nor flag leaves at the heading stage. Considering that leaf blast has been increasingly reported and regarded as an important inoculum source for spike blast, Rmg8 expressed at both the seedling and heading stages, or more strictly in both leaves and spikes, is suggested to be useful to prevent the spread of MoT in Asia and Africa.

Evolution of wheat blast resistance gene Rmg8 accompanied by differentiation of variants recognizing the powdery mildew fungus.

Wheat blast, a devastating disease having spread recently from South America to Asia and Africa, is caused by Pyricularia oryzae (synonym of Magnaporthe oryzae) pathotype Triticum, which first emerged in Brazil in 1985. Rmg8 and Rmg7, genes for resistance to wheat blast found in common wheat and tetraploid wheat, respectively, recognize the same avirulence gene, AVR-Rmg8. Here we show that an ancestral resistance gene, which had obtained an ability to recognize AVR-Rmg8 before the differentiation of Triticum and Aegilops, has expanded its target pathogens. Molecular cloning revealed that Rmg7 was an allele of Pm4, a gene for resistance to wheat powdery mildew on 2AL, whereas Rmg8 was its homoeologue on 2BL ineffective against wheat powdery mildew. Rmg8 variants with the ability to recognize AVR-Rmg8 were distributed not only in Triticum spp. but also in Aegilops speltoides, Aegilops umbellulata and Aegilops comosa. This result suggests that the origin of resistance gene(s) recognizing AVR-Rmg8 dates back to the time before differentiation of A, B, S, U and M genomes, that is, ~5 Myr before the emergence of its current target, the wheat blast fungus. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that, in the evolutionary process thereafter, some of their variants gained the ability to recognize the wheat powdery mildew fungus and evolved into genes controlling dual resistance to wheat powdery mildew and wheat blast.

Identification of quantitative trait loci controlling grain size and shape in the D genome of synthetic hexaploid wheat lines.

Synthetic hexaploid wheat is an effective genetic resource for transferring agronomically important genes from Aegilops tauschii to common wheat. Wide variation in grain size and shape, one of the main targets for wheat breeding, has been observed among Ae. tauschii accessions. To identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for grain size and shape variation in the wheat D genome under a hexaploid genetic background, six parameters related to grain size and shape were measured using SmartGrain digital image software and QTL analysis was conducted using four F2 mapping populations of wheat synthetic hexaploids. In total, 18 QTLs for the six parameters were found on five of the seven D-genome chromosomes. The identified QTLs significantly contributed to the variation in grain size and shape among the synthetic wheat lines, implying that the D-genome QTLs might be at least partly functional in hexaploid wheat. Thus, synthetic wheat lines with diverse D genomes from Ae. tauschii are useful resources for the identification of agronomically important loci that function in hexaploid wheat.

Genetic dissection of grain morphology in hexaploid wheat by analysis of the NBRP-Wheat core collection.

We investigated the genetic diversity of the core collection of hexaploid wheat accessions in the Japanese wheat gene bank, NBRP-Wheat, with a focus on grain morphology. We scanned images of grains in the core collection, which consists of 189 accessions of Triticum aestivum, T. spelta, T. compactum, T. sphaerococcum, T. macha and T. vavilovii. From the scanned images, we recorded six metric characters (area size, perimeter length, grain length, grain width, length to width ratio and circularity) using the software package SmartGrain ver. 1.2. Statistical analyses of the collected data along with hundred-grain weight revealed that T. aestivum has the largest diversity in grain morphology. Principal component analysis of these seven characters demonstrated that two principal components (PCcore1 and PCcore2) explain more than 96% of the variation in the core collection accessions. The correlation coefficients between the principal components and characters indicate that PCcore1 is related to grain size and PCcore2 to grain shape. From a genome-wide association study, we found a total of 15 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) for grain morphological characters. More interestingly, we found mutually exclusive MTAs for PCcore1 and PCcore2 on 18 and 13 chromosomes, respectively. The results suggest that grain morphology in hexaploid wheat is determined by two factors, grain size and grain shape, which are under the control of multiple genetic loci.

Three dominant awnless genes in common wheat: Fine mapping, interaction and contribution to diversity in awn shape and length.

The awn is a long needle-like structure formed at the tip of the lemma in the florets of some grass species. It plays a role in seed dispersal and protection against animals, and can contribute to the photosynthetic activity of spikes. Three main dominant inhibitors of awn development (Hd, B1 and B2) are known in hexaploid wheat, but the causal genes have not been cloned yet and a genetic association with awn length diversity has been found only for the B1 allele. To analyze the prevalence of these three awning inhibitors, we attempted to predict the genotypes of 189 hexaploid wheat varieties collected worldwide using markers tightly linked to these loci. Using recombinant inbred lines derived from two common wheat cultivars, Chinese Spring and Mironovskaya 808, both with short awns, and a high-density linkage map, we performed quantitative trait locus analysis to identify tightly linked markers. Because this linkage map was constructed with abundant array-based markers, we converted the linked markers to PCR-based markers and determined the genotypes of 189 hexaploids. A significant genotype-phenotype correlation was observed at the Hd and B1 regions. We also found that interaction among these three awning inhibitors is involved in development of a membranous outgrowth at the base of awn resembling the Hooded mutants of barley. For the hooded awn phenotype, presence of the Hd dominant allele was essential but not sufficient, so B2 and other factors appear to act epistatically to produce the ectopic tissue. On the other hand, the dominant B1 allele acted as a suppressor of the hooded phenotype. These three awning inhibitors largely contribute to the genetic variation in awn length and shape of common wheat.