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Title: Identification of Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) alleles for resistance to southern leaf blight in near isogenic maize lines

Author
item LENNON, JILL - North Carolina State University
item Krakowsky, Matthew
item GOODMAN, MAJOR - North Carolina State University
item Flint-Garcia, Sherry
item Balint-Kurti, Peter

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2017
Publication Date: 4/1/2017
Citation: Lennon, J., Krakowsky, M.D., Goodman, M., Flint Garcia, S.A., Balint Kurti, P.J. 2017. Identification of Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) alleles for resistance to southern leaf blight in near isogenic maize lines. Crop Science. doi:10.2135/cropsci2016.12.0979.

Interpretive Summary: In this work we identified genes from corn’s wild progenitor, teosinte, that confer resistance to the disease southern leaf blight. We show that they function in corn to confer high levels of disease resistance

Technical Abstract: Southern Leaf Blight [(SLB), causal agent Cochliobolus heterostrophus race O] is an important fungal disease of maize in the United States. Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis), the wild progenitor of maize, offers a novel source of resistance alleles that may have been lost during domestication. The aims of this study are to identify alleles from teosinte, that when present in a temperate maize background, confer a significant level of resistance to SLB. Ten populations of BC4S near isogenic lines (NILs) developed by crossing ten different teosinte accessions to the maize inbred B73, and comprising 774 lines in total were screened for SLB resistance. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis identified four significant QTL associated with SLB. Sixteen individual NILs that were significantly different to the susceptible recurrent parent, B73, with a significant QTL in bins 2.04, 3.04, 3.05, or 8.05 were selected and F2:3 family populations were developed from them by crossing each selected NIL to B73 followed by self-pollinating the progeny twice. These F2:3 family populations were evaluated for SLB resistance and genotyped at the loci of interest. In most cases single marker analysis validated predicted allelic substitution effects from the original NIL populations.