qMrdd2, a novel quantitative resistance locus for maize rough dwarf disease

Background Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD), a widespread disease caused by four pathogenic viruses, severely reduces maize yield and grain quality. Resistance against MRDD is a complex trait that controlled by many quantitative trait loci (QTL) and easily influenced by environmental conditions. So far, many studies have reported numbers of resistant QTL, however, only one QTL have been cloned, so it is especially important to map and clone more genes that confer resistance to MRDD. Results In the study, a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) qMrdd2, which confers resistance to MRDD, was identified and fine mapped. qMrdd2, located on chromosome 2, was consistently identified in a 15-Mb interval between the simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers D184 and D1600 by using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between resistant (“80007”) and susceptible (“80044”) inbred lines. Using a recombinant-derived progeny test strategy, qMrdd2 was delineated to an interval of 577 kb flanked by markers N31 and N42. We further demonstrated that qMrdd2 is an incompletely dominant resistance locus for MRDD that reduced the disease severity index by 20.4%. Conclusions A major resistance QTL (qMrdd2) have been identified and successfully refined into 577 kb region. This locus will be valuable for improving maize variety resistance to MRDD via marker-assisted selection (MAS).

Identification and Fine-Mapping of a Novel QTL qMrdd2 Conferring Resistance to Maize Rough Dwarf Disease

Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD), caused by a virus, seriously affects maize quality and yield worldwide. MRDD can be most effectively controlled with disease-resistant hybrids of corn. Here, MRDD-resistant (Qi319) and -susceptible (Ye478) parental inbred maize lines and their 314 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) that were derived from a cross between them were evaluated across three environments. A stable resistance QTL, qMrdd2, was identified and mapped using BLUP values to a 0.55 Mb region between the markers MK807 and MK811 on chromosome 2 (B73 RefGen_v3), which was found to explain 8.6 to 11.0% of the total phenotypic variance in MRDD resistance. We validated the effect of qMrdd2 using a chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) that was derived from a cross between maize inbred Qi319 as the MRDD resistance donor and Ye478 as the recipient. Disease severity index of the CSSL haplotype II harboring qMrdd2 was significantly lower than that of the susceptible parent Ye478. Subsequently, we fine-mapped qMrdd2 to a 315 kb region flanked by the markers RD81 and RD87 by testing recombinant-derived progeny using selfed backcrossed families. In this study, we identified a novel QTL for MRDD-resistance by combining the RIL and CSSL populations, which can be used to breed for MRDD resistant varieties of maize. Keywords: Maize, Maize rough dwarf disease, QTL, Fine-mapping, Recombinant inbred line, Chromosome segment substitution line.

Fine-mapping the recently discovered QTL qMrdd2 that confers resistance to maize rough dwarf disease

Background: Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD) is a disease caused by a virus that seriously affects maize yield and quality worldwide. Rice black streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) in the Fijivirus genus in the Reoviridae family causes MRDD in maize. Typical MRDD symptoms of include severe dwarfing of plants, shortening of internodes. MRDD resistance is a complex trait that is quantitatively inherited and is controlled by several quantitative trait loci (QTL). MRDD is most efficiently controlled by the cultivation of disease-resistant corn hybrids. Results: Disease resistance in the MRDD-resistant Qi319 and -susceptible Ye478 parental inbred lines and the 314 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) that were derived from a cross between them was evaluated across three environments. A stable resistance QTL, qMrdd2 , which explained 8.64 to 11.02% of the total phenotypic variance in MRDD resistance, was identified repeatedly and was mapped using BLUP values to a 0.55-Mb region between the markers MK807 and MK811 on chromosome 2. We validated the effect of qMrdd2 using a chromosome segment substitution line population that were derived from a cross between maize inbred Qi319 as the resistance donor and Ye478 as the recipient. The disease-severity index (DSI) of CSSL haplotype II harboring qMrdd2 was significantly lower than the DSI of susceptible parent Ye478 ( P < 0.05). Mapping results using CSSLs were consistent with localization interval determined using RILs. The qMrdd2 locus acted with an additive effect but no significant dominant gene action in conferring MRDD resistance. We fine-mapped qMrdd2 locus into a 315-kb region flanked by the markers RD81 and RD87 by testing recombinant-derived progeny using selfed backcrossed families. Conclusions: qMrdd2 is a recently discovered QTL from Qi319 for resistance to MRDD with an additive effect but no significant dominant gene action for MRDD resistance. qMrdd2 was fine-mapped to a 315-kb interval on maize chromosome 2. Introgression of the MRDD resistance allele at the qMrdd2 locus of CSSL haplotype 2 using linked markers umc1824 and bnlg125 will be useful for maize breeding to reduce yield losses caused by MRDD. Keywords: Maize, Maize rough dwarf disease, QTL, Fine-mapping, RIL；CSSL.

A Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus Replication Curve Model to Evaluate Maize Rough Dwarf Disease Resistance

Resistance to maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD), a major cause of crop losses, depends on external conditions such as the virus transmission period and the rate of viruliferous small brown planthoppers, Laodelphax striatellus. The precise identification of MRDD contributes to the utilization of resistant germplasm and the cloning of resistant genes. In this study, eight maize varieties were artificially inoculated in a greenhouse with viruliferous planthoppers. The viral titers in maize seedlings were detected by quantitative fluorescence RT-PCR, and the viral replication curves were analyzed by regression. A logistic model fit the Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) replication data for five susceptible varieties well, whereas a linear model fit the data for three resistant varieties. Among the five susceptible varieties, the time points with the maximum replication rates (tIP) of the highly susceptible Ye478 and XH6 were significantly earlier than those of the three susceptible varieties, Mo17, Zheng58, and Zhengdan958. P138, the most highly resistant variety, had the lowest slope of the best fit line, followed by moderately resistant Chang7-2 and Dan 340. The RBSDV replication curve model developed in this study can accurately identify the resistance of maize germplasm to MRDD at the molecular level. Our results also suggested that tIP and the slope of the RBSDV replication curve can be considered new criteria to evaluate maize resistance to MRDD.