Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » WHGQ » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #317397
Title: Virulence and molecular diversity of the Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici population in Xinjiang in relation to other regions of western China

Author
item ZHAN, G - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item WANG, F - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item Chen, Xianming
item WAN, C - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item HAN, Q - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item HUANG, L - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item KANG, Z - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/20/2015
Publication Date: 1/5/2016
Citation: Zhan, G.M., Wang, F.P., Chen, X., Wan, C.P., Han, Q.M., Huang, L.L., Kang, Z.S. 2016. Virulence and molecular diversity of the Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici population in Xinjiang in relation to other regions of western China. Plant Disease. 100(1):99-107.

Interpretive Summary: In recent years, wheat stripe rust caused severe yield losses in western China, especially the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The population of the stripe rust fungus in the vast region had not been well studied. To determine the population structure and compared with the populations in the neighboring provinces or autonomous regions, stripe rust samples from Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and Tibet in western China were characterized by virulence tests with 19 wheat genotypes that are used to differentiate races of the pathogen in China and by genotyping tests with 15 simple sequence repeat markers. A total of 56 races including 39 previously known and 17 new races were identified from 308 isolates obtained from the three epidemiological regions covering five provinces, of which 27 previously known and eight unknown races were detected in Xinjiang, higher than the numbers in either of the other two regions. The races in Xinjiang were comprised of those historically and recently predominant races in other regions of China. The fungal population in Xinjiang had a higher genetic diversity than those in other epidemiological regions. Molecular variation among sub-populations within Xinjiang was higher than those in other regions. Both virulence and molecular data indicate that the stripe rust fungal population in Xinjiang is related to, but more diverse than those in other epidemiological regions. The information should be useful for control of the disease in Xinjiang as well as in other regions.

Technical Abstract: In recent years, wheat stripe rust caused severe yield losses in western China, especially the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The population of the stripe rust fungus, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), in the vast region had not been well studied. To determine the population structure and compared with the populations in the neighboring provinces or autonomous regions, Pst isolates from Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and Tibet in western China were characterized by virulence tests with 19 wheat genotypes that are used to differentiate races of Pst in China and by genotyping tests with 15 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 56 races including 39 previously known and 17 new races were identified from 308 isolates obtained from the three epidemiological regions covering five provinces, of which 27 previously known and eight unknown races were detected in Xinjiang, higher than the numbers in either of the other two regions. The races in Xinjiang were comprised of those historically and recently predominant races in other regions of China. The Pst population in Xinjiang had a higher genetic diversity than those in other epidemiological regions. Molecular variation among sub-populations within Xinjiang was higher than those in other regions. Both virulence and molecular data indicate that the Pst population in Xinjiang is related to, but more diverse than those in other epidemiological regions. The results show that Xinjiang is an important stripe rust epidemiological region in China, and the information should be useful for control of the disease in the region as well as in other regions.