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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Frederick, Maryland » Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #434775
Research Project: Integrative Genomic and Biological Approaches to Detect and Manage Emerging Foreign Fungal and Oomycete Plant Pathogens

Location: Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research

Title: Evaluation of wheat blast resistance in the USDA Uniform Eastern and Southern Soft Red Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Nurseries

Author
item Pedley, Kerry
item Boehm Jr, Jeffrey
item Brown Guedira, Gina
item PETERSON, GARY - Former ARS Employee
item Vinyard, Bryan

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/2026
Publication Date: 8/19/2026
Citation: Pedley, K.F., Boehm Jr, J.D., Brown Guedira, G.L., Peterson, G.L., Vinyard, B.T. 2026. Evaluation of wheat blast resistance in the USDA Uniform Eastern and Southern Soft Red Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Nurseries. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-26-1129-RE.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-26-1129-RE

Interpretive Summary: Wheat blast is an emerging disease that threatens the global supply of wheat. The disease originated in South American and has recently spread to Asia and Africa. To prepare for a possible introduction into the United States, advanced soft red winter wheat lines developed for the Eastern and Southern growing regions were evaluated for resistance against the disease. All lines that showed resistance carried a specific piece of genetic material, called 2NS, that was originally bred into wheat from a wild wheat relative. This genetic region has previously been associated with wheat blast resistance. No new resistance sources were found. This work shows that the 2NS genetic segment remains essential for protecting wheat against the disease and highlights the importance for breeders to keep incorporating this resistance into future wheat varieties.

Technical Abstract: Wheat blast is an emerging disease caused by the highly virulent Triticum pathotype of the fungal pathogen Pyricularia oryzae that threatens wheat production worldwide. Relatively few sources of resistance to wheat blast have been identified, and no single source of resistance that protects against all strains of the pathogen has been found. We have conducted greenhouse evaluations of wheat entries submitted to the 2021 USDA-coordinated Uniform Eastern and Southern Soft Red Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Nurseries for wheat blast resistance using an aggressive isolate (B-71) of the pathogen collected in Bolivia in 2012. From a total of 72 breeder entries, only three were highly resistant (<10% average disease severity) and six were moderately resistant (<20% average disease severity). All potentially resistant entries possessed the distal chromosomal translocation of 2NS from Aegilops ventricosa, which was previously associated with wheat blast resistance. No potentially new sources of resistance were evident in either of the soft red winter wheat nurseries, underscoring the importance of using 2NS donor lines in wheat breeding programs to protect against wheat blast.