Identification and molecular tagging of a stripe rust resistance gene in wheat line P81

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST), is one of the most devastating diseases in common wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). With the objective of identifying and tagging a new gene for resistance to stripe rust in wheat line P81, F₁, F₂ and F_2:3 populations from the cross 'Chuanmai 28'/P81 were inoculated with Chinese PST race CYR32 in greenhouse and field trials. P81 carried a single dominant gene for resistance (designated YrP81 ) to CYR32. Tests of allelism showed that YrP81 was different from Yr5 , Yr10 , Yr15 and Yr26 . Simple sequence repeat (SSR) and resistance gene-analogue polymorphism (RGAP) between the parents were used for genotyping the F₂ populations. YrP81 was closely linked to four SSR loci on chromosome 2BS with genetic distances of 18.3 cM ( Xwmc25 ), 1.8 cM ( Xgwm429 ), 4.1 cM ( Xwmc770 ) and 5.3 cM ( Xgwm148 ). Two RGAP markers RGA1 (NLRR/XLRR) and RGA2 (Pto kin4/NLRR-INV2) were also closely linked to YrP81 with genetic distances of 4.7 and 6.3 cM, respectively. The linkage map of YrP81 and molecular markers was established in the order Xwmc25 - RGA2 - RGA1 - Xgwm429 - YrP81 - Xwmc770 - Xgwm148 . Pedigree analysis, response patterns with Chinese PST races and associations with markers suggested that YrP81 is a novel stripe rust resistance gene. The PCR-based microsatellite and RGAP markers identified here could be applied in selection of YrP81 in wheat breeding.