AUTHOR=Li Faji , Guo Can , Zhao Qi , Wen Weie , Zhai Shengnan , Cao Xinyou , Liu Cheng , Cheng Dungong , Guo Jun , Zi Yan , Liu Aifeng , Song Jianmin , Liu Jianjun , Liu Jindong , Li Haosheng 

TITLE=Genome-wide linkage mapping of Fusarium crown rot in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1457437

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2024.1457437

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is a severe soil-borne disease that affects wheat globally and leads to significant yield reductions. Identifying the loci associated with resistance to FCR and developing corresponding markers are essential for the breeding of resistant wheat varieties.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In this study, we evaluated the resistance to FCR in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population originating from Gaocheng 8901 and Zhoumai 16 across four environments. The RILs and their parents were genotyped using a wheat 90K singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>We identified a total of five quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to FCR resistance: <italic>QFCR.caas-3AL</italic>, <italic>QFCR.caas-3DL</italic>, <italic>QFCR.caas-5BL</italic>, <italic>QFCR.caas-6BS</italic>, and <italic>QFCR.caas-7DS</italic>. These QTLs accounted for 4.6% to 12.8% of the phenotypic variance. Notably, <italic>QFCR.caas-5BL</italic> and <italic>QFCR.caas-6BS</italic> had been previously detected, whereas <italic>QFCR.caas-3AL</italic>, <italic>QFCR.caas-3DL</italic>, and <italic>QFCR.caas-7DS</italic> are novel loci. The favorable alleles of <italic>QFCR.caas-3DL</italic> and <italic>QFCR.caas-5BL</italic> were contributed by Zhoumai 16, while the favorable alleles for <italic>QFCR.caas-3AL</italic>, <italic>QFCR.caas-6BS</italic>, and <italic>QFCR.caas-7DS</italic> originated from Gaocheng 8901. Additionally, this study identified seven candidate genes that encode disease resistance proteins, the BTB/POZ domains, peroxidase activity, and leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase. Furthermore, we developed and validated two kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers, <italic>Kasp_3AL_FCR</italic> (<italic>QFCR.caas-3AL</italic>) and <italic>Kasp_5BL_FCR (QFCR.caas-5BL)</italic>, in a natural population of 202 wheat varieties.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>This study contributes new genetic insights and provides new stable loci and available KASP markers for breeding to enhance FCR resistance in common wheat.</p></sec>