Identification and characterization of Sr13, a tetraploid wheat gene that confers resistance to the Ug99 stem rust race group

Wenjun Zhang, Shisheng Chen, Zewdie Abate, Jayaveeramuthu Nirmala, Matthew N. Rouse, Jorge Dubcovsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

128 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) Ug99 race group is virulent to most stem rust resistance genes currently deployed in wheat and poses a threat to global wheat production. The durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) gene Sr13 confers resistance to Ug99 and other virulent races, and is more effective at high temperatures. Using map-based cloning, we delimited a candidate region including two linked genes encoding coiled-coil nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat proteins designated CNL3 and CNL13. Three independent truncation mutations identified in each of these genes demonstrated that only CNL13 was required for Ug99 resistance. Transformation of an 8-kb genomic sequence including CNL13 into the susceptible wheat variety Fielder was sufficient to confer resistance to Ug99, confirming that CNL13 is Sr13. CNL13 transcripts were slightly down-regulated 2–6 days after Pgt inoculation and were not affected by temperature. By contrast, six pathogenesis-related (PR) genes were up-regulated at high temperatures only when both Sr13 and Pgt were present, suggesting that they may contribute to the high temperature resistance mechanism. We identified three Sr13-resistant haplotypes, which were present in one-third of cultivated emmer and durum wheats but absent in most tested common wheats (Triticum aestivum). These results suggest that Sr13 can be used to improve Ug99 resistance in a large proportion of modern wheat cultivars. To accelerate its deployment, we developed a diagnostic marker for Sr13. The identification of Sr13 expands the number of Pgt-resistance genes that can be incorporated into multigene transgenic cassettes to control this devastating disease.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)E9483-E9492
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume114
Issue number45
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 7 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • CC-NBS-LRR
  • Durum wheat
  • Resistance genes
  • Stem rust
  • Ug99

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