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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #373500
Research Project: Improvement of Biotic Stress Resistance in Durum and Hard Red Spring Wheat Using Genetics and Genomics

Location: Cereal Crops Research

Title: A wheat cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase confers broad-spectrum resistance against Septoria tritici blotch

Author
item SAINTENAC, CYRILLE - Clermont Universite, Universite D'Auvergne, Unite De Nutrition Humaine
item CAMBON, FLORENCE - Clermont Universite, Universite D'Auvergne, Unite De Nutrition Humaine
item AOUINI, LAMIA - Wageningen Agricultural University
item VERSTAPPEN, ELS - Wageningen Agricultural University
item MAHMOD T. GHAFFARY, SEYED - Wageningen Agricultural University
item POUCET, THEO - Clermont Universite, Universite D'Auvergne, Unite De Nutrition Humaine
item MARANDE, WILLIAM - French National Institute For Agricultural Research
item BERGES, HELEN - French National Institute For Agricultural Research
item Xu, Steven
item JAOUANNET, MAELLE - French National Institute For Agricultural Research
item FAVORY, BRUNO - French National Institute For Agricultural Research
item ALASSIMONE, JULIEN - Eth Zurich
item SANCHEZ-VALLET, ANDREA - Eth Zurich
item Faris, Justin
item KEMA, GERT - Wageningen Agricultural University
item ROBERT, OLIVER - Florimond Desprez - France

Submitted to: Nature Communications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2020
Publication Date: 1/19/2021
Citation: Saintenac, C., Cambon, F., Aouini, L., Verstappen, E., Mahmod T. Ghaffary, S., Poucet, T., Marande, W., Berges, H., Xu, S.S., Jaouannet, M., Favory, B., Alassimone, J., Sanchez-Vallet, A., Faris, J.D., Kema, G., Robert, O. 2021. A wheat cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase confers broad-spectrum resistance against Septoria tritici blotch. Nature Communications. 12:433. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20685-0.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20685-0

Interpretive Summary: Few plant genes that confer broad-spectrum and durable resistance to plant diseases have been identified. The fungal pathogen that causes the disease Septoria tritici blotch (STB) on wheat is one of the most devastating worldwide. However, a wheat gene known as Stb16q is known to provide high levels of resistance to STB. In this work, researchers used genetic analyses to isolate Stb16q and determine its underlying DNA sequence. The results indicated that the structure and function of Stb16q was unlike most typical plant disease resistance genes. This work provides expanded knowledge of how plants defend themselves against pathogens, and it provides a useful tool for the development of STB-resistant wheat cultivars.

Technical Abstract: A poverty of disease resistance gene reservoirs limits the breeding of crops for durable resistance against evolutionary dynamic pathogens. Zymoseptoria tritici, which causes Septoria tritici blotch (STB), represents one of the most genetically diverse and devastating wheat pathogens worldwide. No fully virulent Z. tritici isolates against synthetic wheats carrying the major resistance gene Stb16q have been identified. Here, we used comparative genomics, mutagenesis and complementation to identify Stb16q, which confers broad-spectrum resistance against Z. tritici. The Stb16q gene encodes a plasma membrane cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase that was recently introduced into cultivated wheat and which considerably slows penetration and intercellular growth of the pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase identified as a major resistance gene against plant pathogens.