Molecular Mapping of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Two Adapted Spring Wheat Cultivars.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is considered a major disease that affects both wheat yield and quality in many wheat-growing regions including the US Northern Plains. Therefore, developing wheat cultivars with high resistance to FHB becomes a necessity for the spring wheat (SW) breeding programs in the region. In the last few years, North Dakota State University’s spring wheat breeding program has released several FHB resistance cultivars including high yielding ‘Glenn’ and ‘Parshall’. Based on Glenn’s pedigree, its resistance is expected to come from ‘Sumai3’. However, molecular analysis showed that Glenn does not possess any molecular markers associated with Sumai3-Fhb1 locus (including the Umn10). Parshall is also believed to have an indigenous FHB resistance sources. So, in this study we attempted to understand the genetics of FHB-resistance in these two high yielding SW cultivars. To achieve this goal, two RIL populations (Glenn/MN00261-4 and Parshall/'Reeder') were developed from crosses between the resistant parents (Glenn and Parshall) and the susceptible parents (MN00261-4 and Reeder). The two populations were assessed for different FHB variables (incidence, severity, and deoxynivalenol (DON) level) and some agronomic traits in several field and green house experiments in the states of ND, MN, and SD using artificial inoculation. Besides, both populations were genotyped using Diversity Array Technology (DArT) and Infinium 9K SNP arrays. Framework linkage maps were generated for both populations and used to identify genomic regions associated with FHB variables, plant height, and days to heading. Detailed genetic dissection of FHB variables and agronomic related traits in the two populations will be reported in our presentation.