Marker validation for FHB resistance in durum wheat

Citation

Ruan, Y., Barraies, S., Sari, E., Knox, R.E., Cuthbert, R., Piché, I., Henriquez, M.A., Kumar, S., Burt, A., Konkin, D., Campbell, H.L., Li, L., Ragupathy, R., Zhang, W., and Fobert, P.R. 2018. Marker validation for FHB resistance in durum wheat. National Fusarium Head Blight Forum, St. Louis, MO, USA. December 2-4, 2018.

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is the most serious disease in durum wheat as there is a lack of resistance sources in adapted breeding germplasm. Marker-assisted breeding has been considered an effective way to increase resistance to FHB by selecting favorable genotypes. The objective of this study was to understand the appropriateness of 3BS QTL (Fhb1) from Sumai 3, 1A QTL from Blackbird and 2B QTL from Strongfield to select for the favorable alleles at these loci in breeding. The 360 advanced breeding lines were screened with one 3BS QTL, three 1A QTL, and four 2B QTL KASP markers. The breeding lines were evaluated for FHB incidence, severity and index in artificially inoculated FHB nurseries located near Morden, Brandon, and/or Carman MB in two years. Lines carrying Fhb1 combined with 1A QTL and/or 2B QTL showed better FHB resistance than lines carrying only 1A QTL and/or 2B QTL. Fhb1 combined with 2B QTL increased FHB resistance compared to three QTL combination in the breeding lines. The results of this study justified the use of Fhb1 marker for marker assisted selection in breeding. The FHB resistance level could be affected by QTL combination. The selection of lines carrying Fhb1 either combined with 1A QTL or 2B QTL will enhance FHB resistance in durum wheat.