Identification of a quantitative trait locus for high-temperature adult-plant resistance against Puccinia striiformis f. sp. hordei in 'Bancroft' barley

Sustainable control of plant diseases can be achieved by developing cultivars with durable resistance. 'Bancroft' barley has durable high-temperature, adult-plant (HTAP) resistance to stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. hordei. The objectives of this study were to determine the inheritance of the HTAP resistance in Bancroft, develop molecular markers for the HTAP resistance using the resistance gene analog polymorphism (RGAP) technique, map the HTAP resistance quantitative trait locus or loci (QTL) on barley chromosomes, and determine the usefulness of the RGAP markers in other barley cultivars for marker-assisted selection. The parents and F(4) recombinant inbred lines (RIL) and the parents and F(5) RIL were evaluated in 2004 and 2005 in one and three field sites, respectively, in Washington State. Infection type (IT) and disease severity (DS) were recorded three times at each location during each growing season. Area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated for each parent and RIL based on the DS data. Genetic analyses of IT data of the parents, F(1), and F(2) tested in the adult-plant stage under controlled high-temperature cycle in the greenhouse and the parents, F(4), and F(5) RIL in the field indicated that one dominant gene controlled the HTAP resistance in Bancroft. Using 119 F(5:6) RIL and IT data, a linkage map on chromosome arm 3HL was constructed with eight RGAP markers and three simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Using the QTL analysis, a QTL for HTAP resistance was mapped with the DS and AUDPC data on the same chromosome location as with the IT data. The QTL explained >70% of the total phenotypic variation for the DS and AUDPC. The heritability of the HTAP resistance based on the AUDPC data was 76%. The two markers most close to the QTL peak detected polymorphisms in 84 and 88% of 25 barley genotypes that do not have the Bancroft HTAP resistance when used individually, and detected polymorphism in 100% of the genotypes when used in combination, indicating that the markers could be used in incorporating the HTAP resistance into these barley genotypes to improve the level and durability of resistance to stripe rust.