Identification of Genes for Resistance to Yellow Rust of Asian Origin in Winter Wheat Cultivars and Lines

Yellow rust caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis West. (synonym P. glumarum Erikss. et Henn.) is a dangerous factor contributing to significantly lower yields of common wheat grain and its poor quality. Recent studies indicate that highly virulent strains of yellow rust expand their range from the near-Himalayan region and replace less pathogenic European races of P. striiformis, posing a real danger to the agricultural sector in Europe, including Ukraine, since most wheat varieties resistant to local races of P. striiformis are susceptible to these new highly virulent strains. In this regard, we assessed resistance to the yellow rust pathogen in 558 cultivars and lines of winter common wheat, in particular, 171 in the infection background and 387 in the natural background. Winter wheat samples in the collection variety trials originated from 17 countries, although most of them were of Ukrainian breeding. Screening of winter wheat cultivars and lines for yellow rust resistance showed that only 19 (or 3%) samples exhibited appropriate resistance. Analysis of the yellow rust-resistant wheat specimens using molecular markers for the Yr10 and Yr36 genes did not reveal samples containing either of these genes. At the same time, screening using molecular markers Xbarc8, S23M41-310, S23M41-140, and dp269 indicated the presence of DNA fragments of various lengths associated with resistance alleles of the genes Yr5, Yr15, and YrSp in four cultivars of Ukrainian breeding.