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. 2019 Sep 18;19(1):183.
doi: 10.1186/s12862-019-1511-3.

Virulence structure and its genetic diversity analyses of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici isolates in China

Xian Xin Wu  1 , Xiao Feng Xu  1 , De Xin Ma  1 , Rong Zhen Chen  1 , Tian Ya Li  2 , Yuan Yin Cao  3
Affiliations

Virulence structure and its genetic diversity analyses of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici isolates in China

Xian Xin Wu et al. BMC Evol Biol. .

Abstract

Background: Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), the causal agent of wheat powdery mildew severely affects yield security wheat production in China. Understanding the virulence structure and genetic variations of this pathogen is important for breeding wheat lines resistant to wheat powdery mildew. However, information related to genes controlling resistance remains elusive. This study analyzes the virulence structure and the genetic diversity of pathogenic Bgt populations isolated from northeastern (Liaoning, Heilongjiang) and northwestern (Gansu) China, two representative wheat producing areas, on 37 wheat cultivars each carrying a known powdery mildew resistance (Pm) gene.

Results: Bgt isolates from northeastern China show higher frequencies of virulence genes than populations from Gansu Province. Many of the known Pm genes failed to provide resistance in this study. However, Pm21 provided 100% resistance to all isolates from all three provinces, obtained during two consecutive years, while Pm13 provided 100% resistance in Gansu. Pm13, Pm16, Pm18, and Pm22 also showed partial resistance in northeastern China, while Pm16, Pm18, Pm22, Pm5 + 6 and Pm2 + 6 +? maintained some resistance in Gansu. Genetic diversity among populations in different regions was detected by cluster analyses using expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR). When the genetic similarity coefficient is relatively high, populations from the same regional origin are mostly clustered into one group while populations from different regions exhibit large genetic differences.

Conclusion: Pm21 remains the best choice for breeding programs to maintain resistance to Bgt. Only 58% of the isolates tested show a clear correlation between EST-SSR genetic polymorphisms and frequency of virulence gene data.

Keywords: Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici; EST-SSR; Genetic diversity; Pm gene; Virulence diversity; Wheat powdery mildew.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative PAGE image of PCR products amplified by marker Blu SSR3–1-Blu SSR3–2 using B. graminis f. sp. tritici DNA
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Representative PAGE image of PCR products amplified by marker Blu SSR29–1-Blu SSR29–2 using B. graminis f. sp. tritici DNA
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Dendrogram of clustering analysis based on EST-SSR data for the genetic diversity of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici isolates from different origins
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Clustering analysis based on EST-SSR data for the genetic diversity of 50 Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici isolates from different origins
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Clustering analysis for the virulence diversity of 50 Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The infection types used in this study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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