Identification of Loci That Confer Resistance to Bacterial and Fungal Diseases of Maize

In this study, we evaluated a disease resistance introgression line (DRIL) population for the foliar disease Goss’s bacterial wilt and blight (GW) and conducted quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. We identified a total of ten QTL across multiple environments. We then combined our GW data with data on four additional foliar diseases (northern corn leaf blight, southern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot, and bacterial leaf streak) and conducted multivariate analysis to identify regions conferring resistance to multiple diseases. We identified 20 chromosomal bins with putative multiple disease effects. We examined the five chromosomal regions (bins 1.05, 3.04, 4.06, 8.03, and 9.02) with the strongest statistical support. By examining how each haplotype effected each disease, we identified several regions associated with increased resistance to multiple diseases and three regions associated with opposite effects for bacterial and fungal diseases. In summary, we identified several promising candidate regions for multiple disease resistance in maize and specific DRILs to expedite interrogation.
Source: G3: Genes Genomes Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Genetics of Immunity Source Type: research