Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, is a very destructive wheat (Triticum aestivum) disease. Resistance was transferred from Elytrigia intermedium to common wheat by crossing and backcrossing, and line GRY19, that was subsequently selected, possessed a single dominant gene for seedling resistance. Five polymorphic microsatellite markers, Xgwm297, Xwmc335, Xwmc364, Xwmc426 and Xwmc476, on chromosome arm 7BS, were mapped relative to the powdery mildew resistance locus in an F(2) population of Mianyang 11/GRY19. The loci order Xwmc426-Xwmc335-Pm40-Xgwm297-Xwmc364-Xwmc476, with 5.9, 0.2, 0.7, 1.2 and 2.9 cM genetic distances, was consistent with published maps. The resistance gene transferred from Elytrigia intermedium into wheat line GRY19 was novel, and was designated Pm40. The close flanking markers will enable marker assisted transfer of this gene into wheat breeding populations.

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LHY (late elongated hypocotyl) is an important gene that regulates and controls biological rhythms in plants. Additionally, LHY is highly expressed in the SSH (suppression subtractive hybridization) cDNA library-induced stripe rust pathogen (CYR32) in our previous research. To identify the function of the LHY gene in disease resistance against stripe rust, we used RACE-PCR technology to clone TaLHY in the wheat variety Chuannong19. The cDNA of TaLHY is 3085 bp long with an open reading frame of 1947 bp. TaLHY is speculated to encode a 70.3 kDa protein of 648 amino acids , which has one typical plant MYB-DNA binding domain; additionally, phylogenetic tree shows that TaLHY has the highest homology with LHY of Brachypodium distachyon(BdLHY-like). Quantitative fluorescence PCR indicates that TaLHY has higher expression in the leaf, ear and stem of wheat but lower expression in the root. Infestation of CYR32 can result in up-regulated expression of TaLHY, peaking at 72 h. Using VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) technology to disease-resistant wheat in the fourth leaf stage, plants with silenced TaLHY cannot complete their heading stage. Through the compatible interaction with the stripe rust physiological race CYR32, Chuannong 19 loses its immune capability toward the stripe rust pathogen, indicating that TaLHY may regulate and participate in the heading of wheat, as well as the defense responses against stripe rust infection.

In order to increase the supply of assimilated carbon to grain, a new stay-green wheat cultivar, Chuannong17 (CN17), with delayed leaf senescence, carrying wheat-rye 1RS.1BL translocated chromosome was developed. CN17 exhibited distinct differences in net photosynthetic rate (P n ), chlorophyll (Chl) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, activity of both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) during the grain filling stage, and flag leaf senescence compared with the control. The new cultivar maintained longer and higher photosynthetic competence compared with the control, and this aspect correlated with the difference in chloroplast development. Moreover, the stay-green phenotype of CN17 was also observed under natural growth conditions. Consequently, the coordination of the physiological, biochemical, and structural aspects in the stay-green cultivar produced higher seed weights and per-plant yield compared with the control cultivar.