Development of resistance gene analog polymorphism markers for the Yr9 gene resistance to wheat stripe rust

The Yr9 gene, which confers resistance to stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (P. s. tritici) and originated from rye, is present in many wheat cultivars. To develop molecular markers for Yr9, a Yr9 near-isogenic line, near-isogenic lines with nine other Yr genes, and the recurrent wheat parent 'Avocet Susceptible' were evaluated for resistance in the seedling stage to North American P. s. tritici races under controlled temperature in the greenhouse. The resistance gene analog polymorphism (RGAP) technique was used to identify molecular markers for Yr9. The BC 7 :F 2 and BC 7 :F 3 progeny, which were developed by backcrossing the Yr9 donor wheat cultivar Clement with 'Avocet Susceptible', were evaluated for resistance to stripe rust races. Genomic DNA was extracted from 203 BC 7 :F 2 plants and used for cosegregation analysis. Of 16 RGAP markers confirmed by cosegregation analysis, 4 were coincident with Yr9 and 12 were closely linked to Yr9 with a genetic distance ranging from 1 to 18 cM. Analyses of nulli-tetrasomic 'Chinese Spring' lines with the codominant RGAP marker Xwgp13 confirmed that the markers and Yr9 were located on chromosome 1B. Six wheat cultivars reported to have 1B/1R wheat-rye translocations and, presumably, Yr9, and two rye cultivars were inoculated with four races of P. s. tritici and tested with 9 of the 16 RGAP markers. Results of these tests indicate that 'Clement', 'Aurora', 'Lovrin 10', 'Lovrin 13', and 'Riebesel 47/51' have Yr9 and that 'Weique' does not have Yr9. The genetic information and molecular markers obtained from this study should be useful in cloning Yr9, in identifying germplasm that may have Yr9, and in using marker-assisted selection for combining Yr9 with other stripe rust resistance genes.Key words: molecular markers, Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici, resistance gene analog polymorphism, Triticum aestivum.