Expression of a Triticum turgidum var. dicoccoides source of Fusarium head blight resistance transferred to synthetic hexaploid wheat

Yield and quality reductions caused by Fusarium head blight (FHB) have spurred spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeders to identify and develop new sources of host plant resistance. Four wheat synthetic hexaploids (×Aegilotriticum sp.) were developed, each having a quantitative trait locus (QTL), Qfhs.ndsu-3AS, providing FHB resistance from Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides chromosome 3A. Synthetics were produced by hybridizing a ‘Langdon’-T. dicoccoides- recombinant chromosome 3A substitution line (2n = 4x = 28, AABB with two accessions of T. tauschii (2n= 2x = 14, DD). Synthetics were inoculated and evaluated for FHB resistance in two separate greenhouse seasons. One synthetic, 01NDSWG-5, exhibited FHB severity ratings of 36% and 32% in the separate seasons, compared with ratings of 9% and 30% for ‘Alsen’, a FHB-resistant spring cultivar, and ratings of 70% and 96% for ‘McNeal’, a susceptible spring cultivar, respectively. Synthetic × Alsen backcross-derived lines were produced to initiate combining different sources of FHB resistance.