Virulence characterization and population structure of puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in Henan Province, China

Authors: MA, MENGJIE - Northwest A&f University; JIN, YONGJIN - Northwest A&f University; Chen, Xianming; WANG, JIE - Northwest A&f University; LIU, XINYUN - Northwest A&f University; GEN, LI - Northwest A&f University; ZHENG, WENMING - Henan Agricultural University; HUANG, LILI - Northwest A&f University; KANG, ZHENSHENG - Northwest A&f University; ZHAN, GANGMING - Northwest A&f University

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/2025
Publication Date: 1/6/2025
Citation: Ma, M., Jin, Y., Chen, X., Wang, J., Liu, X., Gen, L., Zheng, W., Huang, L., Kang, Z., Zhan, G. 2025. Virulence characterization and population structure of puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in Henan Province, China. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-24-2352-RE.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-24-2352-RE

Interpretive Summary: Wheat stripe rust poses a significant threat to wheat production, particularly in Henan, the largest wheat production province in China. This study analyzed 219 stripe rust isolates collected from five regions of Henan using two sets of wheat differentials and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Based on the virulence data on the Chinese differentials, 37 races were identified, including 17 new races. CYR34, CYR32, and G22-14 were the top three most prevalent races throughout the province. The virulence profiles varied among the five regions. The tests of the isolates with the Yr single-gene differentials revealed 75 races. Several Yr genes were found to be ineffective for resistance breeding. None of the isolates were virulent to either Yr5 or Yr15, whereas the virulence frequencies to the other 16 Yr genes were different among the five regions. The isolates were genotyped with 23 Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers developed from SNP markers. The stripe rust populations from the five regions were clustered into two major groups based on the two sets of differentials and the KASP-SNP marker data. These findings provide valuable insights for developing wheat cultivars with effective resistance to stripe rust to enhance the disease management.

Technical Abstract: Wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), poses a significant threat to wheat production, particularly in Henan, the largest wheat production province in China. This study analyzed 219 Pst isolates collected from the five regions of Henan using two sets of wheat differentials and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Based on the virulence phenotypes on the Chinese differentials, 37 races were identified, including 17 new races. CYR34, CYR32, and G22-14 were the top three most prevalent races throughout the province. The virulence profiles varied among the five regions. The tests of the isolates with the Yr single-gene differentials revealed 75 races. Several Yr genes were found to be ineffective for resistance breeding. None of the isolates were virulent to either Yr5 or Yr15, whereas the virulence frequencies to the other 16 Yr genes were different among the five regions. The isolates were genotyped with 23 Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers developed from SNP markers. The Pst populations from the five regions were clustered into two major groups based on the two sets of differentials and the KASP-SNP marker data. These findings provide valuable insights for developing wheat cultivars with effective resistance to stripe rust to enhance the disease management.