Marker-assisted pyramiding of genes/QTL for grain quality and rust resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

• DOI: 10.1007/s11032-020-01125-9
• Publication Date: 2020-05-03T15:02:25Z
• Authors: Tinku Gautam; Guriqbal Singh Dh...; Gautam Saripalli; Rakhi; Vivudh Pratap Singh; Pramod Prasad; Satinder Kaur; Parveen Chhuneja; P. K. Sharma; H. S. Balyan; P. K. Gupta
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 2. Zero hunger; 03 medical and health sciences

In common wheat, genes/QTL for a number of traits including grain quality and resistance against all the three rusts were pyramided in the background of an erstwhile elite Indian wheat cv. PBW343. For this purpose, two improved lines (P1 and P2) each in the background of PBW343 were crossed; these two lines were earlier developed using marker-assisted selection (MAS). The genes carried by line “P1” included Yr70/Lr76 + Lr37/Yr17/Sr38, and the genes carried by line “P2” included Gpc-B1/Yr36+QPhs.ccsu-3A.1+QGw.ccsu-1A.3+Lr24/Sr24+Glu-A1-1/Glu-A1-2. Following foreground MAS in F2 and F3 and SDS-PAGE analysis in F5, 23 lines were selected, each carrying all the genes/QTL for grain quality and resistance to three rusts in homozygous condition. Eleven of the selected lines had relatively higher grain protein content (along with one or more other traits) and were also resistant to five pathotypes of Puccinia triticina (Pt), seven pathotypes of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), and two pathotypes (78S84 and 47S103) of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) that occur in major wheat-growing areas of India. One line (CCSU-7) out of these 11 selected lines had significantly higher grain yield as well as grain protein content compared with check cv. PBW343, which should prove useful in future wheat breeding programs for improving not only the grain quality but also the durability of resistance against all three rusts.