No abstract

Stripe rust disease is caused by the fungus f. sp. and severely threatens wheat worldwide, repeatedly breaking resistance conferred by resistance genes and evolving more aggressive strains. Wild emmer wheat, , is an important source for novel stripe rust resistance () genes. , a major gene located on chromosome 1BS of, was previously reported to confer resistance to a broad spectrum of stripe rust isolates, at both seedling and adult plant stages. Introgressions of into cultivated bread wheat and pasta wheat that began in the 1980s are widely used. In the present study, we aimed to validate SSR markers from the region as efficient tools for marker-assisted selection (MAS) for introgression of into wheat and to compare the outcome of gene introgression by MAS and by conventional phenotypic selection. Our findings establish the validity of MAS for introgression of into wheat. We show that the size of the introgressed segment, defined by flanking markers, varies for both phenotypic selection and MAS. The genetic distance of the MAS marker from and the number of backcross steps were the main factors affecting the length of the introgressed donor segments. Markers and , which are the nearest flanking markers studied, were consistent and polymorphic in all 34 introgressions reported here and are therefore the most recommended markers for the introgression of into wheat cultivars. Introgression directed by markers, rather than by phenotype, will facilitate simultaneous selection for multiple stripe rust resistant genes and will help to avoid escapees during the selection process.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract