Search for donors of Stb genes for resistance to Septoria among collection samples of spring soft wheat

Abstract

Septoria tritici blotch is one of the most common and harmful diseases of spring wheat, causing a decrease in yield by 35–50 %. For successful breeding for resistance to this disease, stable source material with molecular and genetically identified Stb genes is needed. The purpose of the research is to search for donor varieties of these genes and sources of resistance of spring soft wheat to the causative agent of septoria Zymoseptoria tritici. There were analyzed 146 cultivars of spring soft wheat from the world's VIR collection using molecular genetic methods for the content of the Stb2, Stb9, Stb11 and Stb13 genes, as well as for resistance to infection with common strains of the causative agent of the disease. Using PCR, the desired genes were identified in 57.7 % of the studied cultivars. The occurrence of Stb2, Stb9, Stb11, and Stb13 genes in the studied genotypes was 14.3 %, 55.9, 67.9 and 79.8 % respectively. All four genes have been identified in the ‘Tepsey’ and ‘Eminent’ cultivars. As a result of laboratory evaluation of donor varieties with artificial infection, 4 highly resistant cultivars were identified (‘Kinelskaya Yubileynaya’, ‘Ingala’ (Russia), ‘Vesta’ (Belarus), ‘Hua Mai 10’ (China)) and 11 resistant cultivars with delayed disease development (‘Ekada 70’, ‘Uralskaya Kukushka’, ‘Pamyaty of Yudin’, ‘Khutoryanka’, ‘Ulianovskaya 105’, ‘Krasnoyarskaya 12’, ‘Voloshinka’, ‘Lada’ (Russia), ‘Dai Chun 2’, ‘Yanzhan No. 1’, ‘Long Chun 8’ (China)). It can be assumed that the Stb13 gene plays a certain role in the formation of resistance of spring wheat against the strains used for infection. A significant increase in yield from 1 m2 to the standard ‘Bazhenka’ cultivar was noted in ‘Ingala’, ‘Vesta’, ‘Ekada 70’ and ‘Ulianovskaya 105’ cultivars. These collection samples of spring soft wheat can be involved in the breeding process as highly productive donors of the identified Stb genes.