Identification of a Major Rice Blast Quantitative Trait Loci containing
Pita/Pi39(t)/Ptr in US Black Hull Awn Weedy Rice
Abstract
Rice blast, caused by the ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, is one
of the most problematic diseases for rice production, threatening global
food security. Genetic resistance to some M. oryzae races can be
achieved using major resistance loci containing the corresponding
avirulence (AVR) genes. Weedy rice, a close relative of cultivated rice
that competes with the crop, has evolved unique genetic mechanisms to
resist the infections of M. oryzae; thus, weedy rice can serve as an
excellent resource for blast control. In this study, we assessed disease
scores of 183 F5 and F6 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a
weedy rice × crop biparental mapping population and their parental
lines, a Black Hull Awn weedy rice strain (PI 653413, RR14) and the
aus-196 rice variety, using five blast races IB33, IB49, IG1, IE1K and
ICI7 under greenhouse conditions. Except for the race IB49, both
parental lines were resistant to all blast races; however, RILs showed a
wide degree of variation in resistance. Genotyping-by-sequencing of the
RIL population and parents generated 1498 SNPs which were used to
construct a linkage map, and QTL mapping of blast resistance was
performed using r/qtl. A single major blast resistance QTL on chromosome
12 was mapped to the Pi-ta/Pi39(t)/Ptr locus. Identification of the
Pi-ta/Pi-t39(t)/Ptr as the key contributor to blast resistance in weedy
rice provides insight into the evolution and adaptation of weedy rice
and can aid in development of blast resistant rice varieties through
marker-assisted selection.