A mapping population of 186 recombinant inbred lines developed from a cross between UC1110, an adapted California spring wheat, and PI610750, a synthetic derivative from CIMMYT's Wide Cross Program, was evaluated for its response to current California races of stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) in replicated field trials over four seasons (2007-2010) in the northern Sacramento Valley. A genetic map was constructed consisting of 1,494 polymorphic probes (SSRs, DArTs, and ESTs) mapped to 558 unique loci, and QTL analysis revealed the presence of four stripe rust resistance QTL segregating in this population, two from UC1110 (on chromosomes 3BS and 2BS) and two from PI610750 (5AL and 2AS). The two QTL of largest effects (on 3BS and 5AL) were validated in independent populations and their intervals narrowed to 2.5 and 5.3 cM, respectively. The 3BS QTL was shown, by allelism test and genotype, to carry a gene different from the Yr30/Sr2 complex. Mapped position also suggests that the 3BS QTL is associated with a gene different from either Yrns-B1 or YrRub, two stripe rust resistance genes mapped to this region in other studies. The 5AL QTL carries a previously unreported partial stripe rust resistance gene, designated here as Yr48. This paper discusses the individual contributions to resistance of these four QTL, their epistatic interactions, and their potential in durable resistance breeding strategies based on combinations of partial resistance genes.

Genes which confer partial resistance to the rusts in wheat figure prominently in discussions of potential durable resistance strategies. The positional cloning of the first of these genes, Lr34/Yr18 and Yr36, has revealed different protein structures, suggesting that the category of partial resistance genes, as defined by phenotype, likely groups together suites of functionally heterogenous genes. With the number of mapped partial rust resistance genes increasing rapidly as a result of ongoing advances in marker and sequencing technologies, breeding programs needing to select and prioritize genes for deployment confront a fundamental question: which genes or gene combinations are more likely to provide durable protection against these evolving pathogens? We argue that a refined classification of partial rust resistance genes is required to start answering this question, one based not merely on disease phenotype but also on gene cloning, molecular functional characterization, and interactions with other host and pathogen proteins. Combined with accurate and detailed disease phenotyping and standard genetic studies, an integrated wheat-rust interactome promises to provide the basis for a functional classification of partial resistance genes and thus a conceptual framework for their rational deployment.

The stem rust resistance genes Sr24, Sr26, Sr36, and Sr1RSAmigo confer resistance to race TTKSK (= Ug99) of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici Pers. (Pgt). A collection of 776 cultivars and breeding lines of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from all growing regions of the United States were screened with simple sequence repeat and sequence tagged site markers linked to Sr24, Sr26, Sr36, and Sr1RSAmigo to determine frequencies of these genes in U.S. wheat germplasm. Marker efficacy in predicting the presence of these genes was evaluated via comparison with assayed seedling infection type. Among the lines evaluated, the most predominant gene is Sr24, present in hard winter, hard spring, and soft winter wheat lines. Resistance in soft winter wheat is primarily due to Sr36 The 1RS·1AL rye translocation carrying Sr1RSAmigo is present at equal frequencies in hard winter and soft winter wheat. Utilization of marker‐assisted selection for stem rust resistance genes can hasten the development of wheat cultivars resistant to TTKSK and its variants and allow for the development of resistance gene pyramids for more durable stem rust resistance.