Identification of SRAP and RGA markers linked to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis) resistance gene PmZB90 in common wheat

Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is one of the major diseases of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) worldwide. Easy-to-use and more closely linked markers can accelerate the use of powdery mildew resistance genes in the genetic improvement for this disease resistance. Thus, the sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and the resistance gene analog (RGA) techniques combined with the bulk segregant analysis (BSA) were employed to develop tightly linked and usable molecular markers of the PmZB90 gene, which confers good resistance to powdery mildew in common wheat. Two hundred and forty SRAP and 11 RGA primer combinations were used to test the 144 F2:3 families of the PmZB90. At the result, 2 SRAP markers Me5/Em5 and Me8/Em16 and 1 RGA marker R11F/R11R linked to the PmZB90 with the genetic distances of 12.9cM, 9.7cM and 9.2cM, respectively. Then, Me8/Em16 and R11F/R11R were used to amplify 31 wheat cultivars/lines. The results showed that Me8/Em16 can be effectively applied in the marker-assisted selection (MAS) for the powdery mildew resistance gene PmZB90 in wheat breeding programmes.