Wheat resistance to Fusarium head blight and possibilities of its improvement using molecular marker-assisted selection

Abstract

Shah L., Ali A., Zhu Y., Wang S., Si H., Ma C. (2017): Wheat resistance to Fusarium head blight and possibilities of its improvement using molecular marker-assisted selection. Czech J. Genet. Plant Breed., 53: 47−54.Wheat, one of the world's major crops, is seriously affected by fungal diseases, especially in regions with high moisture and moderately warm temperatures. This paper reviews various molecular and conventional techniques that are used to identify genotypes with resistance alleles associated with Fusarium head blight (FHB) diseases. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) type II, designated as Fhb1, are frequently applied in plant breeding, and the newly recognized genes related to resistance to this fungal disease give extra insights into marker-assisted selection (MAS). Molecular markers are robust tools that may be routinely used in MAS for the mapping of resistance genes in crop breeding. FHB resistance is polygenic, and different resistance genes could be conveyed into a single genotype by MAS, which might ensure greater resistance to FHB disease. In conclusion, different researchers have used various techniques to control FHB resistance, such as MAS, gene pyramiding (through backcross), and molecular markers (association with resistance QTLs or genes).

Fusarium Head Blight and Rust Diseases in Soft Red Winter Wheat in the Southeast United States: State of the Art, Challenges and Future Perspective for Breeding

“…Although complete FHB resistance has not been obtained yet ( Steiner et al, 2017 ), identification and validation of major and minor effect QTLs and their introgression through diverse breeding methodologies including recently implemented methods such as marker-assisted and genomic selections are of paramount important. These methods have allowed gene pyramiding for durable resistance across wheat breeding programs ( Buerstmayr et al, 2009 ; Li et al, 2016b ; Shah et al, 2017 ; Zhao et al, 2018 ; Zhu et al, 2019 ). Meanwhile, the catastrophic epidemics in the 1990s resulted in the initiation of the US wheat and barley scab initiative (USWBSI; ) in 1997 ( McMullen et al, 2012 ).…”

“…FHB resistance is partially additive, so gene pyramiding is feasible using marker-assisted backcrossing or using either a single or combination of different selection strategies including phenotypic selection, MAS, and GS ( Figure 3 ) ( Shah et al, 2017 ). Agostinelli et al (2012) suggested that an initial round of phenotypic selection for FHB traits at a moderate intensity will increase the homozygous resistant alleles at the major locus thus intensifying the MAS in the next round.…”

“…Reviews at the turn of the twenty-first century included epidemiology ( Parry et al, 1995 ) and conventional breeding of FHB ( Mesterhazy, 1995 ; Miedaner, 1997 ; Mesterházy et al, 1999 ). More recently, reviews of the literature have been published on diverse fields of FHB resistance including QTL mapping and marker-assisted selection (MAS) ( Buerstmayr et al, 2009 ; Gupta et al, 2010 ; Shah et al, 2017 ), genomic selection (GS) ( Larkin et al, 2019 ), and resistance breeding ( Kosová et al, 2009 ; Buerstmayr et al, 2014 ; Steiner et al, 2017 ; Buerstmayr et al, 2019 ; Zhu et al, 2019 ). Similarly, review papers on broad aspects of breeding and genomic selection ( Todorovska et al, 2009 ), epidemiology ( Eversmeyer and Kramer, 2000 ; Brown and Hovmøller, 2002 ; Chen, 2005 ; Bolton et al, 2008 ; Jin et al, 2010 ; Zhao et al, 2016 ), and host resistance ( Kolmer, 1996 ; Chen, 2007 ; Kolmer et al, 2007 ; Singh et al, 2011 ; Kolmer, 2013 ; Ellis et al, 2014 ; Aktar-Uz-Zaman et al, 2017 ; McIntosh et al, 2017 ) on LR and SR have been presented.…”

Integrated control of fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol mycotoxin in wheat

“…Several tolerant breeding lines have been developed, with associated molecular markers (Shah et al ., ,b). An example is the Fhb1 gene from the Chinese wheat cultivar Sumai 3 (Rawat et al ., ).…”

“…As far as the vulnerability of a cultivar to FHB and DON is concerned, breeding improvement in cereals, using conventional methods, molecular markers or via transgenic methods have been described in several reviews (Hollins et al ., ; Snijders, ; Shah et al ., ,b). Arthur () was the first to observe variation in vulnerability to FHB among wheat cultivars.…”