Simultaneous selection for yield-related traits and susceptibility to Fusarium head blight in spring wheat RIL population

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the fungal plant pathogen Fusarium, is a fungal disease that occurs in wheat and can cause significant yield and grain quality losses. The present paper examines variation in the resistance of spring wheat lines derived from a cross between Zebra and Saar cultivars. Experiments covering 198 lines and parental cultivars were conducted in three years, in which inoculation with Fusarium culmorum was applied. Resistance levels were estimated by scoring disease symptoms on kernels. In spite of a similar reaction of parents to F. culmorum infection, significant differentiation between lines was found in all the analyzed traits. Seven molecular markers selected as linked to FHB resistance QTLs gave polymorphic products for Zebra and Saar: Xgwm566, Xgwm46, Xgwm389, Xgwm533, Xgwm156, Xwmc238, and Xgwm341. Markers Xgwm389 and Xgwm533 were associated with the rate of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) as well as with kernel weight per spike and thousand kernel weight in control plants. Zebra allele of marker Xwmc238 increased kernel weight per spike and thousand kernel weight both in control and infected plants, whereas Zebra allele of marker Xgwm566 reduced the percentage of FDK and simultaneously reduced the thousand kernel weight in control and infected plants.

Mapping of quantitative trait loci for traits linked to fusarium head blight in barley

“…FHB, caused by Fusarium culmorum, is a very important disease affecting crops on a global scale [9]. The pathogen is dominant in cooler areas like north, central and western Europe [55].…”

“…While the presence of scab can be determined through visual inspection, the presence of DON cannot. Assessment of disease severity is based on the ratio of symptomatic spikelets on each spike and the proportion of infected spikes in tested plants [9]. Although this method is widely used in the screening of resistant germplasms, the results are subjective.…”

Uni- and multivariate approaches to evaluating the susceptibility of wheat hybrids to Fusarium head blight

“…As was shown by Varshney et al (2000), this trait, similarly like the resistance to FHB, is quantitatively inherited and controlled by a number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) distributed on almost all of the wheat chromosomes. Wiśniewska et al (2016) found that in wheat some molecular markers (Xgwm46, Xgwm389, Xgwm533) are associated both with the percentage of Fusariumdamaged kernels and 1000-kernel weight. This indicates that marker-assisted selection for resistance to FHB can be combined with selection for kernel weight.…”

“…This is probably caused by the overlap between two influences, i.e. genetic factors conditioning yield-related traits per se, and genetic factors responsible for the reaction to the disease manifested in case of infection (Wiśniewska et al 2016).…”

“…Conidia concentration was adjusted to 5 × 10 4 ml -1 . Inoculation was performed at full anthesis (Zadoks scale 65) (for details see Wiśniewska et al 2016). After inoculation the plants were micro-irrigated for two days to maintain moisture.…”