Registration of ‘WGC002’ spring wheat containing wild grass-derived Fusarium head blight resistance gene Fhb7Th2

Authors: Cai, Xiwen; Danilova, Tatiana; CHARIF, AHMED - University Of Nebraska; WANG, FANG - University Of Nebraska; ZHANG, WEI - North Dakota State University; ZHANG, MINGYI - North Dakota State University; REN, SHUANGFENG - North Dakota State University; ZHU, XIANWEN - North Dakota State University; ZHONG, SHAOBIN - North Dakota State University; Dykes, Linda; Fiedler, Jason; Xu, Steven; FRELS, KATHERINE - University Of Nebraska; WEGULO, STEPHEN - University Of Nebraska; Boehm Jr, Jeffrey; Funnell-Harris, Deanna

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/12/2023
Publication Date: 1/5/2024
Citation: Cai, X., Danilova, T.V., Charif, A., Wang, F., Zhang, W., Zhang, M., Ren, S., Zhu, X., Zhong, S., Dykes, L., Fiedler, J.D., Xu, S.S., Frels, K., Wegulo, S., Boehm Jr, J.D., Funnell-Harris, D.L. 2024. Registration of ‘WGC002’ spring wheat containing wild grass-derived Fusarium head blight resistance gene Fhb7Th2. Journal of Plant Registrations. 18(1):179-186. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20342.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20342

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat in the US and worldwide. Wheat plant resistance has proven the most economically-effective and environmentally-friendly method of FHB disease control in wheat production. However, the lack of effective resistance genes has limited the progress in breeding FHB-resistant wheat, especially durum wheat used for pasta. A new FHB resistance gene was introduced into wheat from a wild grass. Wheat line ‘WGC002’ was recently developed and publicly released, which contained the FHB resistance gene for use in wheat breeding. Genetic/genomic tools were also developed to facilitate the transfer of this resistance gene in the development of superior FHB-resistant wheat varieties. This wheat line harboring the new wild grass-derived FHB resistance gene will enhance resistance of wheat and minimize economic losses of wheat growers to this disease for the future.

Technical Abstract: The USDA-ARS and North Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station jointly released the Fusarium head blight (FHB)-resistant spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm ‘WGC002’ in May 2023. WGC002 is a wheat-Thinopyrum elongatum 7B-7E translocation line, designated 7BS·7BL-7EL, with the wheat chromosome 7BL terminal region replaced by the homoeologous counterpart of the Th. elongatum chromosome 7EL that contains the novel FHB resistance gene Fhb7Th2. It was developed from the ‘Chinese Spring’ (CS) wheat-Th. elongatum disomic substitution line ‘DS 7E(7B)’ using our genomics-enabled chromosome engineering pipeline. The pedigree of WGC002 is “DS 7E(7B)/CS ph1b mutant//CS ph1b mutant/3/DS 7E(7B)”. WGC002 consistently exhibited resistance to FHB in inoculations of greenhouse grown plants. Obvious linkage drag has not been observed with the Th. elongatum chromosome segment containing Fhb7The2 in WGC002. In addition, WGC002 does not have a yellow flour pigment gene in the Fhb7The2 haplotype on the terminal 7EL segment of the 7BS·7BL-7EL translocation. Therefore, WGC002 is ready for immediate utilization in wheat breeding. One sequence-tagged site (STS) and two PCR Allelic Competitive Extension (PACE) markers were developed specifically for Fhb7The2 and validated in different wheat genotypes. They are highly diagnostic for Fhb7The2 and extremely useful in marker-assisted introgression of Fhb7The2 in wheat breeding. In summary, WGC002 is a new wild grass-derived FHB-resistant spring wheat germplasm with diagnostic DNA markers available for the resistance gene Fhb7The2, which will enhance and diversity FHB resistance of wheat.