Mapping of seedling resistance in barley to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. pseudohordei

The barley grass stripe rust (BGYR) pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. pseudohordei was first detected in Australia in 1997. While studies have established that it is virulent on wild barley grass, and can infect several barley cultivars, the basis of genetic resistance to this pathogen in barley is largely unknown. Understanding the genetic basis of host resistance and ensuring the selection of germplasm with multiple resistance genes are important to mitigate the potential impact of BGYR in barley production. Genetic analysis of seedling resistance to BGYR in two barley doubled haploid populations, Amaji Nijo/WI2585 (AN/WI) and Galleon/Haruna Nijo (GL/HN), indicated that resistance is governed by several genes. Marker regression analysis of the seedling resistance data from the AN/WI population detected a major QTL, BGYR_WI1 (resistance contributed by WI2585 with the closest marker explaining 52 % of the total phenotypic effect) on chromosome 1HS, flanked by the loci Xabg59 and Xabc310b at map positions 0.0 and 6.9 cM, respectively. Similarly, a major QTL, BGYR_HN1, (resistance contributed by Haruna Nijo with the closest marker explaining 70 % of the total phenotypic effect) was detected in the GL/HN population and was mapped to 1HS, flanked by the loci Xbcd135 and XHOR1 at map positions 12.8 and 24.5 cM, respectively. In addition, several minor loci that provided resistance against BGYR were detected in both populations. While defined QTL intervals were large, the analysis nonetheless provides new information on sources of major QTL controlling resistance to BGYR.