Inheritance of resistance to potato cyst-eelworm (Heterodera rostochiensis Woll.) in the genus Lycopersicon

Summary The presence of resistance to potato cyst-eelworm in wild Lycopersicon species was confirmed.The resistance of two plant accessions, L. pimpinellifolium, B6173, and L. peruvianum, B6001, was compared in screening tests against three eelworm isolates, using the susceptible L. esculentum Ailsa Craig as a control. Both accessions were shown to possess high levels of resistance to the Wren isolate (pathotype A) of H. rostochiensis, and resistance to the Castle Donington (pathotypes A, B, and E) and Hare Lane (pathotype B) isolates. The level of resistance in L. pimpinellifolium was greater than that in L. peruvianum. Because of its greater resistance, and the ease with which it can be hybridised with tomato cultivars, L. pimpinellifolium was chosen as a donor parent for breeding programmes designed to incorporate potato cyst-eelworm resistance into a commercial tomato variety.The resistance of L. pimpinellifolium, B6173, to the Wren isolate of H. rostochiensis was shown to be controlled by a single dominant gene for which the symbol Hero is proposed.