Genetics of Fusarium head blight resistance in soft red winter wheat using a genome‐wide association study. Issue 3 (28th May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ghimire, Bikash; Mergoum, Mohamed; Martinez‐Espinoza, Alfredo D.; Sapkota, Suraj; Pradhan, Sumit; Babar, Md Ali; Bai, Guihua; Dong, Yanhong; Buck, James W.
• Is Part Of: œplant genome. Volume 15:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-05-28
• Subjects: Plant genomes -- Periodicals; Plant genome mapping -- Periodicals; 572.862
• DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20222
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1940-3372

Abstract

Abstract: Host resistance is an effective and sustainable approach to manage the negative impact of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield and quality. The objective of this study was to characterize the phenotypic responses and identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) conditioning different FHB resistance types using a panel of 236 elite soft red winter wheat (SRWW) lines in a genome‐wide association study (GWAS). The panel was phenotyped for five FHB and three morphological traits under two field and two greenhouse environments in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020. We identified 160 significant marker–trait associations (MTAs) for FHB traits and 11 MTAs for plant height. Eleven QTL showed major effects and explained >10% phenotypic variation (PV) for FHB resistance. Among these major loci, three QTL were stable and five QTL exhibited a pleiotropic effect. The QTL QFhb‐3BL, QFhb‐5AS, QFhb‐5BL, QFhb‐7AS.1, QFhb‐7AS.2, and QFhb‐7BS are presumed to be novel. Pyramiding multiple resistance alleles from all the major‐effect QTL resulted in a significant reduction in FHB incidence, severity, index, deoxynivalenol (DON), and Fusarium ‐damaged kernel (FDK) by 17, 43, 45, 55, and 25%, respectively. Further validation of these QTL could potentially facilitate successful introgression of these resistance loci in new cultivars for improved FHB resistance in breeding programs. Core Ideas: GWAS using 236 lines and 27, 466 SNPs discovered 171 MTAs for FHB and plant height traits. Eleven, including three stable and five pleiotropic, major‐effect QTL were discovered for FHB resistance. QTL QFhb‐3BL, QFhb‐5AS, QFhb‐5BL, QFhb‐7AS.1, QFhb‐7AS.2, and QFhb‐7BS appear novel. Pyramiding resistance alleles from major QTL significantly reduced FHB traits. Promising wheat lines identified could enrich SRWW gene pool for durable FHB resistance.