Location: Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research
2019 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Identified chromosomal loci associated with quantitative resistance to soybean rust. Soybean rust can cause significant damage to soybean crops grown in the southeastern United States. Populations of the fungus that cause soybean rust are very diverse and adapt quickly to overcome single dominant genes for rust resistance. Quantitative resistance, where multiple genes each contribute a small portion of disease resistance, has the potential to provide more durable resistance to the disease and reduce grower inputs by reducing reliance on synthetic fungicides for control of soybean rust. To identify regions of soybean chromosomes associated with quantitative resistance to soybean rust, ARS scientists in Urbana, Illinois, collaborated with University of Illinois researchers to conduct a genome wide association study of 3,215 accessions from the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection and publicly available molecular marker data. The analysis identified three significant loci as being associated with quantitative resistance to soybean rust. The discovery and mapping of chromosomal regions containing quantitative genes for resistance to soybean rust could be combined in new cultivars to reduce fungicide use and to protect soybean yields in production areas of the United States where soybean rust is common.
Review Publications
Smith, J.R., Gillen, A.M., Nelson, R.L., Bruns, H.A., Mengistu, A., Li, S., Bellaloui, N. 2019. Registration of high-yielding exotically-derived soybean germplasm line LG03-4561-14. Journal of Plant Registrations. 13:237-244. https://doi.org/10.3198/jpr2018.09.0061crg.
Grando, C., Amon, N.D., Clough, S.J., Guo, N., Wei, W., Azevedo, P., Lopez-Uribe, M.M., Zucchi, M.I. 2018. Two colors, one species: The case of Melissodes nigroaenea (Apidae: Eucerini), an important pollinator of cotton fields in Brazil. Sociobiology. 64:645-653. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v65i4.3464.
Ray, J., Yang, X., Kong, F., Guo, T., Deng, F., Clough, S.J., Ramonell, K. 2018. A novel receptor-like kinase involved in fungal pathogen defense in Arabidopsis thaliana. Journal of Phytopathology. 166:506-515. https://doi.org/10.1111/jph.12711.
