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This is the first report on genetic analysis and genome mapping of major dominant genes for near non-host resistance to barley crown rust ( Puccinia coronata var. hordei ) in common wheat. Barley crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata var. hordei, primarily occurs on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in the Great Plain regions of the United States. However, a few genotypes of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were susceptible to this pathogen among 750 wheat accessions evaluated. To investigate the genetics of crown rust resistance in wheat, a susceptible winter wheat accession PI 350005 was used in crosses with two resistant wheat varieties, Chinese Spring and Chris. Analysis of F1 plants and F2 populations from these two crosses indicated that crown rust resistance is controlled by one and two dominant genes in Chris and Chinese Spring, respectively. To determine the chromosome location of the resistance gene Cr1 in Chris, a set of 21 monosomic lines derived from Chris was used as female parents to cross with a susceptible spring type selection (SSTS35) derived from the PI 350005/Chris cross. Monosomic analysis indicated that Cr1 is located on chromosome 5D in Chris and one of the crown rust resistance genes is located on chromosome 2D in Chinese Spring. The other gene in Chinese Spring is not on 5D and thus is different from Cr1. Molecular linkage analysis and QTL mapping using a population of 136 doubled haploid lines derived from Chris/PI 350005 further positioned Cr1 between SSR markers Xwmc41-2 and Xgdm63 located on the long arm of chromosome 5D. Our study suggests that near non-host resistance to crown rust in these different common wheat genotypes is simply inherited.

Physical mapping methods that do not rely on meiotic recombination are necessary for complex polyploid genomes such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This need is due to the uneven distribution of recombination and significant variation in genetic to physical distance ratios. One method that has proven valuable in a number of nonplant and plant systems is radiation hybrid (RH) mapping. This work presents, for the first time, a high-resolution radiation hybrid map of wheat chromosome 1D (D genome) in a tetraploid durum wheat (T. turgidum L., AB genomes) background. An RH panel of 87 lines was used to map 378 molecular markers, which detected 2312 chromosome breaks. The total map distance ranged from approximately 3,341 cR(35,000) for five major linkage groups to 11,773 cR(35,000) for a comprehensive map. The mapping resolution was estimated to be approximately 199 kb/break and provided the starting point for BAC contig alignment. To date, this is the highest resolution that has been obtained by plant RH mapping and serves as a first step for the development of RH resources in wheat.

The compatibility-inducing action of the scs(ti) (species cytoplasm-specific gene derived from Triticum timopheevii) and Vi (vitality) genes can be observed when a durum (T. turgidum) nucleus is placed in T. longissimum cytoplasm. These two genes restore compatibility between an otherwise incompatible nucleus and cytoplasm. The objective of this study was to localize the scs(ti) gene on a linkage map of chromosome 1A, which could eventually be used to clone the gene. The mapping population consisted of 110 F2 individuals derived from crossing a Langdon-T. dicoccoides chromosome 1A substitution line with a euplasmic (normal cytoplasm) line homozygous for the scs(ti) gene. Through a series of testcrosses the genotypes of the 110 individuals were determined: 22 had two copies, 59 had one copy, and 29 had no copy of the scs(ti) gene. Data from RFLP, AFLP, and microsatellite analysis were used to create a linkage map. The flanking marker loci found for the scs(ti) gene were Xbcd12 and Xbcd1449-1A.2 with distances of 2.3 and 0.6 cM, respectively. Nearly 10% of individuals in this population were double recombinant for a genetic interval of <3 cM. A blistering phenotype reminiscent of the phenotype observed in maize brittle-1 mutable was also evident in these individuals. The higher frequency of double recombination within this region and seed-blistering phenotype could be an indication of a transposable element(s) in this locus.