Molecular mapping of a stripe rust resistance gene in wheat cultivar Wuhan 2

Stripe rust (or yellow rust), caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is the best approach to control the disease. To identify and map genes for stripe rust resistance in wheat cultivar 'Wuhan 2', an F-2 population was developed from a cross between the cultivar and susceptible cultivar Mingxian 169. The parents, 179 F-2 plants and their derived F2: 3 lines were evaluated for responses to Chinese races CYR30 and CYR31 of the pathogen in a greenhouse. A recessive gene for resistance was identified. DNA bulked segregant analysis was applied and resistance gene analog polymorphism (RGAP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) techniques were used to identify molecular markers linked to the resistance gene. A genetic map consisting of five RGAP and six SSR markers was constructed. The recessive gene, designated Yrwh2, was located on the short arm of chromosome 3B and flanked by SSR markers Xwmc540 and Xgwm566 at 5.9 and 10.0 cM, respectively. The chromosomal location of the resistance gene and its close marker suggest that the locus is different from previously reported stripe rust resistance genes Yr30, QYr.ucw-3BS, Yrns-B1, YrRub and QYrex.wgp-3BL previously mapped to chromosome 3B. Yrwh2 and its closely linked markers are potentially useful for developing stripe rust resistance wheat cultivars if used in combination with other genes.