Characterization of Adult Plant Resistance of Spring Barley to Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei).

ABSTRACTAdult plant resistance (APR) is an enigmatic phenomenon in which resistance genes are ineffective in protecting seedlings from disease but confer robust resistance at maturity. Maize has multiple cases in which genes confer APR to northern leaf spot, a lethal disease caused byCochliobolus carbonumrace 1 (CCR1). The first identified case of APR in maize is encoded by a hypomorphic allele,Hm1A, at thehm1locus. In contrast, wild type alleles ofhm1provide complete protection at all developmental stages and in every part of the maize plant.Hm1encodes an NADPH-dependent reductase, which inactivates HC-toxin, a key virulence effector of CCR1. Cloning and characterization ofHm1Aruled out differential transcription or translation for its APR phenotype and identified an amino acid substitution that reduced HC-toxin reductase (HCTR) activity. The possibility of a causal relationship between the weak nature ofHm1Aand its APR phenotype was confirmed by the generation of two new APR alleles ofHm1by mutagenesis. The HCTRs encoded by these new APR alleles had undergone relatively conservative missense changes that partially reduced their enzymatic activity similar to HM1A. No difference in accumulation of HCTR was observed between adult and juvenile plants, suggesting that the susceptibility of seedlings derives from a greater need for HCTR activity, not reduced accumulation of the gene product. Conditions and treatments that altered the photosynthetic output of the host had a dramatic effect on resistance imparted by the APR alleles, demonstrating a link between the energetic or metabolic status of the host and disease resistance affected by HC-toxin catabolism by the APR alleles of HCTR.AUTHOR SUMMARYAdult plant resistance (APR) is a phenomenon in which disease resistance genes are able to confer resistance at the adult stages of the plant but somehow fail to do so at the seedling stages. Despite the widespread occurrence of APR in various plant diseases, the mechanism underlying this trait remains obscure. It is not due to the differential transcription of these genes, and here we show that it is also not due to the differential translation or activity of the APR alleles of the maizehm1gene at different stages of development. Using a combination of molecular genetics, biochemistry and physiology, we present multiple lines of evidence that demonstrate that APR is a feature or symptom of weak forms of resistance. While the mature parts of the plant are metabolically robust enough to manifest resistance, seedling tissues are not, leaving them vulnerable to disease. Growth conditions that compromise the photosynthetic output of the plant further deteriorate the ability of the seedlings to protect themselves from pathogens.One sentence summaryCharacterization of adult plant resistance in the maize-CCR1 pathosystem reveals a causal link between weak resistance and APR.

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Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping for Adult-Plant Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Bread Wheat

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-96-0784 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 96 (7) ◽

pp. 784-789 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

S. S. Liang ◽

K. Suenaga ◽

Z. H. He ◽

Z. L. Wang ◽

H. Y. Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Trait Loci ◽

Powdery Mildew ◽

Plant Resistance ◽

Quantitative Trait ◽

Powdery Mildew Resistance ◽

Adult Plant Resistance ◽

Adult Plant ◽

Phenotypic Variance ◽

Mildew Resistance ◽

Trait Loci

Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, is a major disease to wheat (Triticum aestivum) worldwide. Use of adult-plant resistance (APR) is an effective method to develop wheat cultivars with durable resistance to powdery mildew. In the present study, 432 molecular markers were used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for APR to powdery mildew in a doubled haploid (DH) population with 107 lines derived from the cross Fukuho-komugi × Oligoculm. Field trials were conducted in Beijing and Anyang, China during 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 cropping seasons, respectively. The DH lines were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Artificial inoculation was carried out in Beijing with highly virulent isolate E20 of B. graminis f. sp. tritici and the powdery mildew severity on penultimate leaf was evaluated four times, and the maximum disease severity (MDS) on penultimate leaf was investigated in Anyang under natural inoculation in May 2004 and 2005. The heritability of resistance to powdery mildew for MDS in 2 years and two locations ranged from 0.82 to 0.93, while the heritability for area under the disease progress curve was between 0.84 and 0.91. With the method of composite interval mapping, four QTL for APR to powdery mildew were detected on chromosomes 1AS, 2BL, 4BL, and 7DS, explaining 5.7 to 26.6% of the phenotypic variance. Three QTL on chromosomes 1AS, 2BL, and 7DS were derived from the female, Fukuho-komugi, while the one on chromosome 4BL was from the male, Oligoculm. The QTL on chromosome 1AS showed high genetic effect on powdery mildew resistance, accounting for 19.5 to 26.6% of phenotypic variance across two environments. The QTL on 7DS associated with the locus Lr34/Yr18, flanked by microsatellite Xgwm295.1 and Ltn (leaf tip necrosis). These results will benefit for improving powdery mildew resistance in wheat breeding programs.

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