Marker development and pyramiding of Fhb1 and Fhb7 for enhanced resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in soft red winter wheat.

Authors: GYAWALI, BINOD - Purdue University; Scofield, Steven - Steve; MOHAMMADI, MOHSEN - Purdue University

Submitted to: Crops
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/24/2023
Publication Date: 12/7/2023
Citation: Gyawali, B., Scofield, S.R., Mohammadi, M. 2023. Marker development and pyramiding of Fhb1 and Fhb7 for enhanced resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in soft red winter wheat.. Crops. https://doi.org/10.3390/crops3040028.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/crops3040028

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major challenge for wheat production in much of the world. Not only can FHB greatly reduce yield, but it may also result in grain that is contaminated in the toxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Currently the best source of genetic resistance in wheat is the FHB1 gene, but it is not sufficient to control the disease completely, so there is a strong need to identify new sources of FHB resistance that can be combined with FHB1 to improve resistance. This study reports development of soft red winter wheat breeding lines that contain both FHB1 and a new resistance gene, FHB7. These lines have been tested over two years and shown reduced disease and DON levels compared to FHB1 alone. The lines have additional value to breeders because they also carry resistance genes for stem and leaf rust and Barley yellow dwarf virus. This accomplishment will be important for breeders of soft red winter wheat.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating fungal disease of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum). Several genetic loci were previously identified that control FHB resistance in wheat, including Fhb1. Fhb7, a major QTL conferring resistance to FHB controlling for mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) production, has been introgressed into soft red winter wheat (SRWW). As an exotic QTL, Fhb7 is associated with linkage drag affecting agronomic and end-use quality performance. This study outlines a breeding strategy for introducing and pyramiding Fhb7 into SRWW breeding populations that already possessed Fhb1 and harbored some additional disease resistance genes. In addition to the Fhb1-Fhb7 pyramiding, we developed gene-based markers for both genes, and examined them on 57 SRWW breeding lines. Our data showed that 15 out of 57 breeding lines possessed both Fhb1 and Fhb7 resistant alleles. Two years of phenotypic data from the inoculated and misted irrigation field showed that the combination of Fhb1-Fhb7 lowers mycotoxin DON accumulation in kernels, which provides protection for end-users and the milling industry. The Fhb gene pyramided lines, with the additional regionally important disease resistance genes, produced in this breeding pipeline showed reasonable agronomic traits and can be used in crossing program for the widespread introgression in elite wheat cultivars.