Detection of quantitative trait loci for leaf rust resistance in wheat––T. timopheevii/T. tauschii introgression lines

Advanced backcross QTL analysis was used to identify QTLs for seedling and adult plant resistance to leaf rust in introgression lines derived from a cross between the spring wheat cultivar ‘Saratovskaya 29’ and a synthetic allopolyploid wheat (T. timopheevii/T. tauschii). F₂ mapping populations involving two backcross selections (‘BC5’ and ‘BC9’ lines) were genotyped with microsatellite markers. Two significant QTL for adult plant resistance were identified in line ‘BC5’: one on chromosome 2B, but originating from chromosome 2G, explained 31% of the trait variance. The other, derived from T. tauschii and mapped to the short arm of chromosome 2D explained 19% of the trait variance. In the second line, one major seedling and adult plant resistance QTL was identified on chromosome 2B. Both QTL co-located to the same marker interval. Such introgression lines, resulting from the reconstruction of common wheat genome, are of interest both as initial material for breeding and improvement of current cultivars, and as a resource for the study of the interaction and transformation of genomes.