Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Cereal Disease Lab » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #293641
Title: Identification of wheat gene Sr35 that confers resistance to Ug99 stem rust race group

Author
item SAINTENAC, CYRILLE - University Of California
item ZHANG, WENJUN - University Of California
item SALCEDO, ANDRES - Kansas State University
item Rouse, Matthew - Matt
item TRICK, HAROLD - Kansas State University
item AKHUNOV, EDUARD - Kansas State University
item DUBCOVSKY, JORGE - University Of California

Submitted to: Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2013
Publication Date: 6/27/2013
Citation: Saintenac, C., Zhang, W., Salcedo, A., Rouse, M.N., Trick, H., Akhunov, E., Dubcovsky, J. 2013. Identification of wheat gene Sr35 that confers resistance to Ug99 stem rust race group. Science [online]:1239022. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/06/26/science.1239022.

Interpretive Summary: Wheat stem rust is a devastating disease that can cause severe yield losses in wheat. A new race of the wheat stem rust fungal pathogen designated Ug99 has overcome most of the widely used resistance genes and is spreading through Africa and Asia threatening major wheat production areas. We report here the cloning of the Sr35 gene from a wild wheat relative, which confers resistance to Ug99. Using map-based cloning, association mapping, induced mutations, and transgenic complementation we demonstrate that Sr35 is a CC-NBS-LRR gene designated CNL9. This gene is absent in wheat and in modern cultivars, but is effective when transferred to bread wheat. The cloning of Sr35 opens the door to the use of biotechnological approaches to control this devastating disease, and to the analyses of the molecular interactions that define the wheat-rust pathosystem. The products of this research will be used by scientists to plan further experiments to develop new technologies to protect wheat from yield losses to rust diseases.

Technical Abstract: Wheat stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) is a devastating disease that can cause severe yield losses. A new Pgt race designated Ug99 has overcome most of the widely used resistance genes and is spreading through Africa and Asia threatening major wheat production areas. We report here the cloning of the Sr35 gene from Triticum monococcum, which confers resistance to Ug99 and related Pgt races. Using map-based cloning, association mapping, induced mutations, and transgenic complementation we demonstrate that Sr35 is a CC-NBS-LRR gene designated CNL9. This gene is absent in the diploid donor of the A genome of polyploid wheat and in modern cultivars, but is effective when transferred to bread wheat. The cloning of Sr35 opens the door to the use of biotechnological approaches to control this devastating disease, and to the analyses of the molecular interactions that define the wheat-rust pathosystem.