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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Cereal Disease Lab » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407458
Research Project: Surveillance, Pathogen Biology, and Host Resistance of Cereal Rusts

Location: Cereal Disease Lab

Title: A single NLR gene confers resistance to leaf and stripe rust in wheat

Author
item SHARMA, DAVINDER - Tel Aviv University
item AVNI, RAZ - Tel Aviv University
item GUTIERREZ-GONZALEZ, JUAN - University Of Leon
item KUMAR, RAKESH - Tel Aviv University
item SELA, HANAN - Tel Aviv University
item PRUSTY, MANAS - Tel Aviv University
item SHATIL-COHEN, ARAVA - Tel Aviv University
item MOLNAR, ISTVAN - Czech Academy Of Sciences
item HOLUSOVA, KATERINA - Czech Academy Of Sciences
item SAID, MAHMOUD - Czech Academy Of Sciences
item DOLEZEL, JAROSLAV - Czech Academy Of Sciences
item MILLET, EITAN - Tel Aviv University
item KHAZAN-KOST, SOFIA - Tel Aviv University
item LANDAU, UDI - Tel Aviv University
item BETHKE, GERIT - University Of Minnesota
item Moscou, Matthew

Submitted to: Nature Communications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2024
Publication Date: 11/15/2024
Citation: Sharma, D., Avni, R., Gutierrez-Gonzalez, J., Kumar, R., Sela, H., Prusty, M.R., Shatil-Cohen, A., Molnar, I., Holusova, K., Said, M., Dolezel, J., Millet, E., Khazan-Kost, S., Landau, U., Bethke, G., Sharon, O., Ezrati, S., Ronen, M., Maatuk, O., Eilam, T., Manisterski, J., Ben-Yehuda, P., Anikster, Y., Matny, O., Steffenson, B.J., Mascher, M., Brabham, H.J., Moscou, M.J., Liang, Y., Yu, G., Wulff, B., Muehlbauer, G., Minz-Dub, A., Sharon, A. 2024. A single NLR gene confers resistance to leaf and stripe rust in wheat. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54068-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54068-6

Interpretive Summary: Wheat is threatened by a diverse array of diseases that reduce yield. The development of new varieties by plant breeders with good sources of resistance is increasingly dependent on a wider array of species that include wild wheat relatives. In this project, we identified the plant immune receptor (Lr/Yr548) that provides resistance to two fungal diseases (wheat leaf rust and wheat stripe rust) from the wild relatives Aegilops sharonensis and Aegilops longissima. A functional version of Lr/Yr548 was not found in wheat, therefore the introduction of this gene will provide a new source of resistance for wheat improvement.

Technical Abstract: Nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NLR) disease resistance genes typically confer resistance against races of a single pathogen. We report on Lr/Yr548, a new NLR gene that is unique to the wheat wild relatives Aegilops sharonensis and Ae. longissima and confers specific resistance against both Puccinia triticina (Pt) and P. striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) that cause leaf and stripe rust, respectively. The Lr/Yr548 gene prevented disease development in introgression lines as well as transgenic wheat lines in seedlings and adult plants. Comparative analysis of cloned disease resistance NLR genes, and population analysis of Ae. longissima and Ae. sharonensis revealed that the Lr/Yr548 gene contains a distinctive CC domain and that it is found only in these two species. The confinement of Lr/Yr548 to Ae. longissima and Ae. sharonensis, and the cross protection that it confers against Pt and Pst in wheat, highlight the potential of these plant species as a source of novel disease resistance genes for wheat improvement.