Inheritance and molecular mapping of barley genes conferring resistance to wheat stripe rust

ABSTRACT Most barley cultivars are resistant to stripe rust of wheat that is caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici. The barley cv. Steptoe is susceptible to all identified races of P. striiformis f. sp. hordei (PSH), the barley stripe rust pathogen, but is resistant to most P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races. To determine inheritance of the Steptoe resistance to P. striiformis f. sp. tritici, a cross was made between Steptoe and Russell, a barley cultivar susceptible to some P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races and all tested P. striiformis f. sp. hordei races. Seedlings of parents and F(1), BC(1), F(2), and F(3) progeny from the barley cross were tested with P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races PST-41 and PST-45 under controlled greenhouse conditions. Genetic analyses of infection type data showed that Steptoe had one dominant gene and one recessive gene (provisionally designated as RpstS1 and rpstS2, respectively) for resistance to races PST-41 and PST-45. Genomic DNA was extracted from the parents and 150 F(2) plants that were tested for rust reaction and grown for seed of F(3) lines. The infection type data and polymorphic markers identified using the resistance gene analog polymorphism (RGAP) technique were analyzed with the Mapmaker computer program to map the resistance genes. The dominant resistance gene in Steptoe for resistance to P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races was mapped on barley chromosome 4H using a linked microsatellite marker, HVM68. A linkage group for the dominant gene was constructed with 12 RGAP markers and the microsatellite marker. The results show that resistance in barley to the wheat stripe rust pathogen is qualitatively inherited. These genes might provide useful resistance against wheat stripe rust when introgressed into wheat from barley.