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Title: Rapid phenotypic assessment of bird cherry-oat aphid resistance in winter wheat

Author
item DUNN, BRUCE - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV
item CARVER, BRETT - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV
item Baker, Cheryl
item Porter, David

Submitted to: Plant Breeding
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/2006
Publication Date: 5/1/2007
Citation: Dunn, B.L., Carver, B.F., Baker, C.A., Porter, D.R. 2007. Rapid phenotypic assessment of bird cherry-oat aphid resistance in winter wheat. Plant Breeding. 126(3):240-243.

Interpretive Summary: The bird cherry-oat (BCO) aphid causes significant damage to winter wheat in the Great Plains. Aphids feed on young seedling wheat and cause growth reductions that can dramatically reduce yield at harvest, but these changes are difficult to detect just by looking at the aboveground portion of the young wheat plant at the seedling stage. This study was conducted to develop an efficient technique to use on seedling wheat to measure the plant's ability to tolerate BCO feeding. We analysed root and shoot weights of 3-week-old seedlings after they had been fed on by BCO for 14 days. We compared these plants to ones that had not been infested with BCO. Using this new technique, we found that there are significant differences among wheat cultivars and breeding lines for tolerance to BCO. The technique was very effective in measuring the negative impacts of BCO feeding on wheat seedlings that are not visually detectable on seedling wheat. This BCO tolerance-measuring technique will be very useful in developing new improved wheat cultivars with tolerance to BCO feeding.

Technical Abstract: Rhopalosiphum padi, or the bird cherry-oat (BCO) aphid, causes significant damage to winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Great Plains. Our objective was to develop a juvenile-plant bioassay for BCO tolerance that allows rapid phenotypic characterization of tolerance. Central features of the bioassay include root and shoot weight measurements of 3-wk-old seedlings produced in seed germination pouches, a 14-d aphid exposure period, and a non-infested control treatment to establish a baseline for expected biomass per genotype. Cultivars used as reference genotypes in bioassay development were 'Illinois Rustproof', with 17% (shoots) and 27% (roots) aphid-induced biomass reduction, and 'Patrick', with 31% (shoots) and 48% (roots) reduction. Significant variation (P<0.01) was detected in the biomass ratio (infested/control) for experimental lines tested in the 2003 Southern Regional Performance Nursery. This rapid and repeatable bioassay is extendable to large wheat collections and inbred line populations.