Genetic studies on the powdery mildew resistance of winter barley lines derived from Hordeum spontaneum accessions collected in Israel

The genetics of the powdery mildew resistance of 15 Hordeum spontaneum-derived winter barley lines were studied in testcrosses with selected cultivars carrying the MIa12 and MIa13 resistance alleles, in order to identify the inheritance of the resistance and to test for linkage with the MIa locus on chromosome 1H (5). A total of 27 genes were identified. Only one of these genes (in line 1–12 x Dura) could eventually be allelic to a gene previously identified in H. spontaneum Koch. A monofactorial dominant inheritance was identified in the majority of the lines. Three of the tested lines possessed recessively inherited genes and in one line a dominant and a recessive gene were identified. In respect to the reaction of the lines against European mildew cultures, lines with a bifactorially inherited resistance had a broader resistance spectrum than those with a monofactorial inheritance, while lines carrying recessive factors showed a moderately expressed resistance. In three cases a linkage with the MIa locus was found, while in two further lines a possible allelism to this locus was indicated by the absence of recombinant progeny plants. By using more than two isolates for linkage analysis, it was possible to identify additional genes for mildew resistance, reaching a maximum number of four genes in the same line. In some cases, a different inheritance was observed for the resistance of the same line against different isolates. It was assumed that different genes exist, each being effective against a different isolate.     

Sources of powdery mildew resistance in a wild barley collection

A total of 1,383 accessions of wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum) held in the USDA-National Small Grains Collection, Aberdeen were screened for resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei) in the Czech Republic. They were subsequently tested at the seedling stage for reaction to selected powdery mildew pathotypes and simultaneously for their adult plant resistance in the field. One hundred and twenty-three accessions exhibited resistance to 22 pathotypes in the greenhouse tests (reaction type 2–3 or lower) as well as resistance to the natural population of this pathogen in the field in the Czech Republic during at least 2-year testing. These accessions represent large amount of promising sources in breeding barley for resistance to powdery mildew.     

Evaluation of cultivated and wild barley for resistance to pathotypes ofPuccinia hordei with wide virulence

An isolate ofPuccinia hordei (ND89-3) originally collected in Morocco is virulent on most barley genotypes reported to possess resistance, except cultivar Estate (CI 3410), which possesses theRph3 gene and exhibits a low to intermediate level of resistance (infection type 12). Isolate ND89-3 possesses one of the widest virulence spectrums reported forP. hordei. Accessions ofHordeum vulgare (1,997 in total) andH. spontaneum (885 in total), mostly originating from the Mediterranean region and parts of North Africa, were evaluated with isolate ND89-3 at the seedling stage to identify new sources of leaf rust resistance. Fifty-eight accessions ofH. vulgare, and 222 accessions ofH. spontaneum exhibited low infection types to this isolate. Further evaluations of these resistant accessions with isolates ofP. hordei virulent forRph3,Rph7, andRph12 suggested that most of the resistantH. vulgare accessions possess theRph3 gene. Data suggested additional sources of effective resistance inH. vulgare are rather limited. FiveH. vulgare accessions and 167H. spontaneum accessions were identified as possible sources of new genes for leaf rust resistance. These accessions likely possess resistance genes that are different fromRph1 toRph12, or gene combinations thereof based on their reaction to four leaf rust isolates. Utilization of these accessions in barley breeding will broaden the germplasm resources available for genetic control ofP. hordei. North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series No. 2123. The U.S. Government right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Phenotypic diversity of barley powdery mildew resistance sources

One hundred and twenty-one of 123 previously detected new sources of wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum) resistant to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei), and originating from Mediterranean area, and 20 standards were tested at the seedling stage for reaction to 38 selected Israeli powdery mildew isolates. The obtained resistance spectrum (a set of resistant and susceptible reactions) of each accession was divided into triplets and converted to octal numbers. This concentrates information on the resistance phenotype of each accession and makes their comparison much easier. One hundred and thirty-four different resistance spectra were determined. No compatible reaction was found in standards possessing genes mlo and Mlhb2 and in the accession PI 466634. The results demonstrate large diversity in new resistance sources, their distinction from the sources described till now as well as diversity in powdery mildew resistance of wild barley in the Mediterranean area. The results facilitate more effective further studies of such a large set of new resistance sources, and contribute to speeding up their use in barley breeding.     

RAPD data do not support a second centre of barley domestication in Morocco

A RAPD analysis was conducted to clearify the mode of evolution of barley in the western Mediterranean basin. Twenty-nine barley accessions (Hordeum vulgare) and 13 populations of the wild progenitor (H. v. subsp. spontaneum) together with two outgroup species were analysed with seven RAPD primers, resulting in 101 polymorphic amplified fragments. Phenetic and cladistic analyses of the RAPD data resulted in trees indicating a monophyletic origin of cultivated barley, thus making a secondary domestication in Morocco unlikely. In Morocco spontaneous back mutation to wild type and crossing between wild barley (introduced from the E Mediterranean) and cultivated lines occurred, which gave rise to the local weedy forms of barley.     

Genetic diversity in Hordeum agriocrithon E. Åberg, six-rowed barley with brittle rachis, from Tibet

Twenty-two accessions of H. agriocrithon from Tibet were investigated for morphological and physiological characters, and genotypes combined alleles at the tightly linked Est1, Est2 and Est4 complex locus encoding esterase isozymes. H. agriocrithon was similar in plant type to Tibetan cultivated barley, but different from H. spontaneum. The accessions of H. agriocrithon were classified by their spike-awn types into vars. eu-agriocrithon, dawoense and paradoxon, with one exceptional accession of the awnless naked type similar to var. nuditonsum of cultivated barley. They were characterized by spring growth habit, susceptibility to Japanese race I of powdery mildew, and either of the same three esterase genotypes as those of cultivated barley from Tibet, Bhutan and Ladakh. The similarity suggested that the esterase complex locus on chromosome 3H is closely linked with some QTL for adaptation to Tibetan conditions. On the origin of H. agriocrithon, it might be concluded that natural hybridization between H. spontaneum and six-rowed barley occurred in northern parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan or India, and seeds of their segregants mixed into barley or wheat were brought up to Tibet, resulting six-rowed barley with brittle rachis.     

Powdery mildew resistance in Aegilops tauschii coss. and synthetic hexaploid wheats

Summary A collection of 400 Ae. tauschii (syn. Ae. squarrosa) Coss. accessions were screened for powdery mildew resistance based on the response patterns of 13 wheat cultivars/lines possessing major resistance genes to nine differential mildew isolates. 106 accessions showed complete resistance to all isolates, and 174 accessions revealed isolate-specific resistance, among which were 40 accessions exhibiting an identical response pattern as wheat cultivar Ulka/^*8Cc which is known to possess resistance gene Pm2. Expression of both complete and isolate-specific resistance from Ae. tauschii was observed in some synthetic hexaploid wheats derived from four mildew susceptible T. durum Desf. parents, each crossed with five to 38 resistant diploid Ae. tauschii accessions. Synthetic amphiploids involving different combinations of T. durum and Ae. tauschii generally showed a decrease in resistance compared with that expressed by the Ae. tauschii parental lines.     

Powdery Mildew Resistance in a Collection of Chinese Barley Varieties

One hundred and forty-seven Chinese barley varieties maintained at the Gene Bank of the National Barley Improvement Centre, Zhejiang, and 84 progenies from these varieties were tested at the seedling stage for their reaction to 32 selected pathotypes of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Eighteen resistance spectra were identified comprising single or combined resistances from eight known (Ml(Bw), Ml(Ch), Mla7, Mla8, Mla9, Mla13, MlaRu4 and Mlg) and six unknown resistance genes. The most frequent gene was Ml(Bw), which was found in 69 varieties and previously detected in only a few European winter barley varieties. The genes Mla8 and Ml(Ch) were also often present, but other resistance genes were rare. After inoculation, considerably fewer pathogen colonies were observed in ‘Aiganqi’ and one line of ‘Tong5’. Twenty varieties were composed of lines with different resistance genes. China is likely to be a region of origin of the genes Ml(Bw), Mla7, as well as three unknown genes found in original landraces and perhaps another three unknown genes detected in cultivars bred in China. The resistances of varieties from the Zhejiang province and those originating from 11 other Chinese provinces were quite different. Unfortunately, none of the varieties are promising sources of resistance to powdery mildew and China does not seem to be a region suitable for identifying such sources.     

Molecular analysis of the DNA polymorphism of wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) germplasm using the polymerase chain reaction

Summary Hordeum spontaneum is the progenitor of cultivated barley (H. vulgare) and is an important source of genetic variation for barley breeding programs. The genetic diversity ofH. spontaneum in the Australian germplasm collection was investigated using the polymerase chain reaction with random and semi-random primers. This approach was found to be robust in respect of reaction conditions. Genetic dissimilarity values between genotypes were used to produce a phenogram of the relationships among the accessions using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean. The largest divergence was observed among Israeli accessions, whereas the Turkish and Iranian samples clustered as distinct subsets, each apparently related to portion of the Israeli material. The results indicate that the genetic diversity of the wild barleys is broadly correlated with geographic distribution.     

Quantitative Trait Loci for Seed Dormancy in Wild Barley (Hordeum spontaneum C. Koch)

A quantitative trait locus analysis was carried out to unravel the genetic basis of dormancy in wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) from Israel. Two accessions, Ashkelon and Mehola, from divergent environments were crossed to produce a mapping population. A linkage map was produced from the F₂ population, and F₄ seeds were used for germination experiments. Five quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected for dormancy across the different germination experiments. These QTL were found on chromosomes 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7. The variation explained by each QTL varied between 8 and 25%. Ashkelon alleles increased the germination except for the QTL on chromosome 5. Three out of these five QTL co-locate with QTL found earlier in cultivated barley crosses, although this does not necessarily imply that they would be the same loci. The level of dormancy is much higher in wild barley than in cultivated barley and wild barley may have alleles that have not yet been utilised in breeding for optimally dormant barley.     

Resistance to powdery mildew in populations of barley landraces from Morocco

Forty-eight populations of barley landraces collected from Morocco were screened for resistance to powdery mildew and a number of different resistance genes were detected. Landraces originated from the collection of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas – ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria. Twenty populations of tested landraces (about 42%) showed resistance reactions and 46 single plant lines were selected. Fourteen of these lines were tested in the seedling stage with 17 and another 32 lines with 23 differential isolates of powdery mildew, respectively. The isolates were chosen according to their virulence spectra observed on the Pallas isolines differential set. Five lines originating from five populations of landraces showed resistance to all prevalent in Europe powdery mildew virulence genes. Thirty-five lines (76%) showed resistance reaction type 2. The distribution of reaction type scores indicated that about 81% of all reaction types observed were classified as powdery mildew resistance (scores 0, 1 and 2). In forty-one lines (89%) the presence of unknown genes alone or in combination with a specific one was detected. Four different resistance alleles (Mlat, Mla6, Mla14 and Mla22) were postulated to be present in the tested lines alone or in combination. Among specific resistance alleles the most common was allele Mlat (resistance Atlas). This allele was postulated to be present in twenty-three (50%) tested lines. The use of new identified sources of resistance to powdery mildew in barley breeding is discussed.     

Phenotypic diversity in wild barley (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hordeum vulgare</Emphasis> L. ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">spontaneum</Emphasis> (C. Koch) Thell.) accessions collected in Jordan

Wild barley, Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. spontaneum (C. Koch) Thell., is the progenitor of cultivated barley. Almost unanimously the center of diversity is considered to be in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East, where wild barley grows under a wide range of environmental and climatic conditions. Jordanian wild barley is expected to harbor genes useful for the improvement of cultivated barley, particularly those associated with tolerance to drought. This study evaluated 103 wild barley accessions collected from different areas of Jordan along with 29 cultivated barley genotypes for several morphological and agronomical traits. The Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum C. Koch accessions were grouped into six populations according to the longitude, latitude, altitude, and rainfall zone of the collection site, and the cultivated barley in one population. The evaluation was conducted during the 2004–2005 growing season under field conditions in three locations in Jordan; namely, Khanasri, Ramtha, and Maru with 123.0, 222.9, and 429.2 mm annual rainfall, respectively. We used an unreplicated design with two systematic checks (the cultivars Rum and Mu’ta) each repeated 15 times. The results showed the existence of high variability among the Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum C. Koch accessions for most of the traits, especially for plant height, tiller number, days to heading, days to anthesis, peduncle length, and peduncle extrusion. Plant height, earliness, peduncle length, and peduncle extrusion were found to be adaptive traits under drought conditions and several superior genotypes for each trait were identified. Genetic variation within population was much higher than between populations. Clustering of populations was according to their ecological geographical pattern.     

Resistance reaction to powdery mildew (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Erysiphe pisi</Emphasis>) in a germplasm collection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lathyrus cicera</Emphasis> from Iberian origin

Several Lathyrus species have a considerable potential as alternative pulses in sustainable dryland farming systems mainly due to their high tolerance to drought and disease resistance. Powdery mildew is a serious disease affecting several Lathyrus species. Little is known on the availability of resistance and the underlying resistance mechanisms against powdery mildew in the Lathyrus genus. The present study assessed and characterized the resistance reaction to powdery mildew, Erysiphe pisi, in a collection of Iberian Lathyrus cicera accessions. In general, a compatible reaction with no macroscopically visible necrosis was observed but accessions with reduced disease severity despite of a high infection type have also been identified. This Partial Resistance was in some accessions only expressed in the adult plant stage. The controlling genes of the Lathyrus resistance mechanisms can be of great interest not only for the Lathyrus improvement per se but also for related legume species, like field pea.     

Genetic diversity in European accessions of the Barley Core Collection as detected by isozyme electrophoresis

Genetic diversity in 79 European accessions of the Barley Core Collections was surveyed using isozyme electrophoresis. A total of 26 alleles were observed at the ten isozyme loci. All loci were polymorphic except Pgd-1 which was monomorphic. The comparison of the results with those of previous studies indicates that most of the alleles occurring in the European Barley are also observed in this set of the European Barley Core Collections. Only five alleles (Est-1 Al; Est-5 Ag, Te; Pgi-1 C and Ndh-2 B) were absent. Nine of 26 alleles were rare alleles, which were detected only in one or two accessions. Moreover, most of rare alleles were detected in 6-rowed winter barley. It is very important to include rare alleles for maximising the genetic variations in core collections. In the set of European Barley Core Collection, 6-rowed barley contained larger diversity than 2-rowed barley; winter type contained larger diversity than spring type. The cluster analysis separated 79 accessions into three major groups. Group I is more complex and comprised 2-rowed spring, 2-rowed winter and 6-rowed winter barley. In this group, 18 accessions in the cluster A and 14 accessions in the cluster B possessed identical genotypes as judged from the ten isozyme data. Principal coordinate analysis could not clearly separate the spring cultivars from the winter barley lines, as well as not separate 2-rowed from 6-rowed barley.     

Sources of resistance to downy mildew in narbon (Vicia narbonensis) and common (Vicia sativa) vetches

Downy mildew (Peronospora viciae (Berk) de Bary) is an important disease of vetches (Vicia spp.) in the Mediterranean Region. Narbon and common vetch germplasm accessions originating from different countries, and advanced breeding narbon vetch genotypes, were evaluated for reaction to downy mildew for two seasons under field conditions. In narbon vetch, there were resistant sources from both germplasm accessions and advanced genotypes. From the germplasm accessions, 25 accessions were resistant while from the advanced breeding genotypes, 10 had resistance, with 2–3 ratings. In common vetch, many accessions were highly resistant to downy mildew. These were widely distributed in different countries, mainly Turkey, Italy, Syria and Iran. In general, common vetch had higher sources of resistance than the narbon vetch accessions. These new sources of resistance to downy mildew will be incorporated into the forage legume improvement project in a continuous effort to identify cultivars suitable for replacing fallow in the cereal-based cropping systems.     

Evaluation of Wild Lens Taxa for Agro-Morphological Traits, Fungal Diseases and Moisture Stress in North Western Indian Hills

Exploitation of wild gene pool for breeding is a common practice in an increasing number of cultivated plants. The cultivated lentil could not attain the substantial improvement in the yield potential due to loss of genes for higher productivity and lack of resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. The absence of evaluation data of wild lentils for characters of economic importance, besides biotic and abiotic stresses, is one of the constraints in their use in lentil breeding programme. In the present study, 70 wild accessions from four wild Lens subsp./sp. (L. culinaris subsp. orientalis, L. odomensis, L. ervoides and L. nigricans) along with 3 checks (Precoz, PL-406 and PL-639) were evaluated for phenological and agro-morphological characters, for their reaction to three fungal diseases (wilt, powdery mildew and rust) and screened for tolerance to moisture stress. The wild accessions showed higher performance for branches/plant as compared to cultivated genotypes. Similarly, a few accessions of L. culinaris subsp. orientalis were earlier to flower and had higher seeds and seed yield/plant as compared to cultivated lentil. However, some were comparable with cultivated genotypes for flowers/peduncle, peduncle length and plant height. The mean performance for flowers per peduncle, leaflets per leaf, plant height, seeds and seed yield per plant increased, while decreased for days to flowering and maturity, and branches per plant during the evolution of cultivated lentil from the wild Lens taxa. Of Lens taxa, L. nigricans had the maximum resistant accessions for biotic and tolerance to abiotic stresses. The valuable variation existing among wild accessions can be exploited following introgression with cultivated lentils. It will help in the flow of useful genes from wild to cultivated lentil for generating wide spectrum of variability and its subsequent use in genetic restructuring of lentil.     

New Wild Lactuca Genetic Resources with Resistance Against Bremia lactucae

A total of 1027 genotypes of wild Lactuca spp. (L. serriola, L. saligna, and L. aculeata), originating from Israel, Jordan, East Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan, China, and various other countries in Europe were screened for resistance to the lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae Regel). The genotypes of L. serriola (N = 962); L. saligna (N = 43); and L. aculeata (N = 22) were tested at the seedling stage with two isolates of B. lactucae (race Bl-21 and Isr-74) isolated from cultivated lettuce in Italy and Israel, respectively. Altogether, the isolates possess virulence against 17 out of 20 Dm genes/R-factors composing the established differential set of lettuce lines/varieties. They could therefore be used for preliminary detection of the presence of new resistance factors. A total of 83 and three genotypes of L. serriola and L. saligna, respectively, were resistant to infection by each of the two isolates alone as well as to the infection by a mix of the two isolates. These genotypes probably carry previously unknown resistance, and therefore could be suitable for exploitation by breeders and further detailed research. The wild progenitor of lettuce, L. serriola, and related species harbor significant untapped genetic resources for lettuce improvement.     

Analysis of Genetic Diversity Among Saccharum spontaneum L. From Four Geographical Regions of India, Using Molecular Markers

Saccharum spontaneum L. a wild relative of sugarcane is the most variable and diverse among the Saccharum species. This species had been successfully exploited in sugarcane improvement programmes since 1915 and most of the present day commercial varieties are derivatives of interspecific hybrids involving S. spontaneum. The S. spontaneum germplasm available today in the World collections is diverse and represent different geographical groups. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to characterize 40 S. spontaneum clones collected from 4 different geographical areas in India using 20 random, 2 ISSR and 2 telomere primers. Of the 491 bands generated by these primers 83.9% were polymorphic. The genetic diversity estimated based on these markers was found to be moderate (48.9%). The pair-wise genetic distance between the accessions ranged from 29.8 to 60.0. The accessions from Arunachal Pradesh were found to be the most diverse, while Tamil Nadu accessions showed relatively less diversity. Diversity between Tamil Nadu and Kerala collections was found to be low, while the diversity between the Orissa group and the rest was found to be high. The collections from Mayurbanj and Cuttack regions of Orissa were found to be distinct. Arunachal Pradesh accessions, being more diverse, are a potential source for exploitation in sugarcane breeding programmes.     

Natural hybrids between cultivated and wild sunflowers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Helianthus</Emphasis> spp.) in Argentina

Two introduced wild species Helianthus annuus L. and H. petiolaris Nutt. have become widespread in central Argentina and overlap the sunflower crop region. Intermediate off-type plants between the wild and cultivated species are often found, which is of concern because of the recent release of imidazolinone resistant varieties and the likely use of genetically modified sunflower cultivars. The progeny of 33 off-type plants obtained from 14 representative sites of the diffusion area were studied to confirm hybrid origin. Germination, survival, morphological traits and days to flowering confirmed hybridization between crop and both wild species, when compared to eight accessions of typical wild plants. Some progenies were presumably crop–wild H. annuus hybrids, some originated from the cross of cultivated plants and H. petiolaris, and two were the advanced generation of a cultivated hybrid. Hence, morphological traits are a good clue for the identification of spontaneous hybrid plants at field. The results indicate that crop–wild hybridization and introgression occur at various places in central Argentina. This fact may represent a way to herbicide resistance escape and future transgene escape if GM sunflower cultivars are released for commercial use.     

Collection of Lupinus angustifolius L. Germplasm and Characterisation of Morphological and Molecular Diversity

Lupinus angustifolius L. is a Mediterranean species, domesticated in the 20th century, representing an important grain legume crop in Australia and other countries. This work is focused on the collection of wild germplasm and on the characterisation of morphological and molecular diversity of germplasm accessions. It reports the collection of 81 wild L. angustifolius accessions from the South and Centre of Portugal, available at the ‘Instituto Superior de Agronomia Gene Bank’, with subsequent morphological and molecular characterisation of a selection of these and other accessions. A multivariate analysis of morphological traits on 88 L. angustifolius accessions (including 59 wild Portuguese accessions, 15 cultivars and 14 breeding lines) showed a cline of variation on wild germplasm, with plants from Southern Portugal characterised by earlier flowering, higher vegetative development and larger seeds. AFLP and ISSR molecular markers grouped modern cultivars as sub-clusters within the wider diversity of wild germplasm, revealing the narrow pool of genetic diversity on which domesticated accessions are based. The importance of preserving, characterising and using wild genetic resources for L. angustifolius crop improvement is outlined by the results obtained.