Molecular mapping of leaf rust resistance gene LrFun in Romanian wheat line Fundulea 900

Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina, is one of the major wheat diseases worldwide and poses a constant threat to common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production and food security. Results from the F₂ and F_2:3 populations derived from a cross between resistant line Fundulea 900 and susceptible cultivar Thatcher indicated that a single dominant gene, tentatively designated LrFun, conferred resistance to leaf rust. In order to identify other possible genes in Fundulea 900, nine P. triticina pathotypes avirulent on Fundulea 900 were used to inoculate F_2:3 families. The results showed that at least two leaf rust resistance genes were present in Fundulea 900. A total of 1,706 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were used to test the parents and resistant and susceptible bulks. Eight polymorphic markers from chromosome 7BL were used for genotyping the F₂ and F_2:3 populations. LrFun was linked to eight SSR loci on chromosome 7BL. The two closest flanking SSR loci were Xgwm344 and Xwmc70, with genetic distances of 4.4 and 5.7 cM, respectively. At present four leaf rust resistance genes, Lr14a, Lr14b, Lr68 and LrBi16, are located on chromosome 7BL. In a seedling test with 12 P. triticina isolates, the reaction patterns of LrFun were different from those of lines carrying Lr14a, Lr14b and LrBi16. Lr68 is an adult plant resistance gene, and it is different from the seedling resistance gene LrFun. Therefore, we concluded that LrFun is a new leaf rust resistance gene.