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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388932
Research Project: Improvement of Biotic Stress Resistance in Durum and Hard Red Spring Wheat Using Genetics and Genomics

Location: Cereal Crops Research

Title: Genetics of resistance to septoria nodorum blotch in wheat

Author
item PETERS HAUGRUD, AMANDA - North Dakota State University
item Zhang, Zengcui
item Friesen, Timothy
item Faris, Justin

Submitted to: Theoretical and Applied Genetics
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2021
Publication Date: 1/20/2022
Citation: Peters Haugrud, A., Zhang, Z., Friesen, T.L., Faris, J.D. 2022. Genetics of resistance to septoria nodorum blotch in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-022-04036-9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-022-04036-9

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) is a foliar disease of wheat caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum. Research over the last two decades has shown that the wheat-P. nodorum pathosystem mostly follows an inverse gene-for-gene model. The fungus produces necrotrophic effectors (NEs) that interact with specific host gene products encoded by dominant sensitivity (S) genes. When a compatible interaction occurs, a ‘defense response’ in the host leads to programmed cell death thereby provided dead/dying cells from which the pathogen, being a necrotroph, can acquire nutrients allowing it to grow and sporulate. To date, nine S gene-NE interactions have been characterized in this pathosystem. Five NE-encoding genes, SnTox1, SnTox3, SnToxA, SnTox5, and SnTox267, have been cloned along with three host S genes, Tsn1, Snn1, and Snn3-D1. Studies have shown that P. nodorum hijacks multiple and diverse host targets to cause disease. SNB resistance is often quantitative in nature because multiple compatible interactions usually occur concomitantly. NE gene expression plays a key role in disease severity, and the effect of each compatible interaction can vary depending on the other existing compatible interactions. Numerous SNB-resistance QTL have been identified in addition to the known S genes, and more research is needed to understand the nature of these resistance loci. Marker-assisted elimination of S genes through conventional breeding practices and disruption of S genes using gene editing techniques are both effective strategies for the development of SNB-resistant wheat cultivars, which will become necessary as the global demand for sustenance grows.