Identification, mapping, and marker development of stem rust resistance genes in durum wheat ‘Lebsock’

Wheat production in many wheat-growing regions is vulnerable to stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt). Several previous studies showed that most of the durum cultivars adapted to the upper Great Plains in the USA have good resistance to the major Pgt pathotypes, including the Ug99 race group. To identify the stem rust resistance (Sr) genes in the durum cultivar ‘Lebsock’, a tetraploid doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a cross between Lebsock and Triticum turgidum ssp. carthlicum PI 94749 was screened with the Pgt races TTKSK, TRTTF, and TTTTF. The stem rust data and the genotypic data previously developed were used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance. We identified one QTL each on chromosome arms 4AL, 6AS, 6AL, and 2BL. Based on marker and race-specification analysis, we postulated that the QTL on 4AL, 6AS, 6AL, and 2BL correspond to Sr7a, Sr8155B1, Sr13, and likely Sr9e, respectively. The results indicated that most of the US durum germplasm adapted to the upper Great Plains likely harbors the four major Sr genes characterized in this study. Among these genes, Sr8155B1 was recently identified and shown to be unique in that it conferred susceptibility to TTKSK but resistance to variant race TTKST. Two, three, and one thermal asymmetric reverse PCR (STARP) markers were developed for Sr7a, Sr8155-B1, and Sr13, respectively. Knowledge of the Sr genes in durum germplasm and the new STARP markers will be useful to pyramid and deploy multiple Sr genes in future durum and wheat cultivars.