Allelism and resistance loci of powdery mildew and leaf rust in Egyptian hexaploid bread wheat

To incorporate resistance genes of powdery mildew (Pm) and leaf rust (Lr) effectively in breeding programs allelic interaction should be explored. The response and molecular patterns of three Pm genes, Pm3, Pm8, Pm17, and three Lr genes, Lr10, Lr24, and Lr26 were investigated in 15 Egyptian wheat cultivars. Postulation of different Pm and Lr resistance genes in Egyptian wheat cultivars was carried out according to seedling phenotyping data that resulted from inoculation with a set of five pathotypes of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici and twelve pathotypes of Puccinia triticina. Responses and molecular patterns revealed the presence of resistance genes Pm3 and Lr10 in the cultivar Misr-1, Pm17, and Lr24 in the cultivar Giza-171, and Pm8 and Lr26 in a further ten cultivars. Molecular markers confirmed the presence of Pm8 and Lr26 in six wheat cultivars, Sakha-94, Sakha-95, Gemmeiza-10, Gemmeiza-11, Sids-13, and Shandweel-1. The presence of Pm17 in Giza-171 was confirmed by the STS marker iag95. A comparison of phenotypic and genotypic data between cultivars Giza-171 and Amigo demonstrated that Pm17 in cv Giza-171 is allelic to Pm8. The existence of Lr24 in Giza-171 was confirmed by using STS marker J09. Based on these results, Pm17 and Lr24 in Giza-171 may be located on translocated chromosomes. In cv Misr-1, the presence of Pm3 and Lr10 on the same region of 1AS chromosome could represent a rare recombination event. Field responses revealed specific resistance of Misr-1 and Giza-171, which may be attributed to the presence of Pm3 and Lr10 in Misr-1 and Pm17 and Lr24+ additional genes in Giza-171.