Population genomics, linkage disequilibrium and association mapping of stripe rust resistance genes in wild emmer wheat, Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides

The primary goals of this project were: (1) development of a genetically characterized association panel of wild emmer for high resolution analysis of the genetic basis of complex traits; (2) characterization and mapping of genes and QTL for seedling and adult plant resistance to stripe rust in wild emmer populations; (3) characterization of LD patterns along wild emmer chromosomes; (4) elucidation of the multi-locus genetic structure of wild emmer populations and its correlation with geo-climatic variables at the collection sites. Introduction In recent years, Stripe (yellow) rust (Yr) caused by Pucciniastriiformis f. sp. tritici(PST) has become a major threat to wheat crops in many parts of the world. New races have overcome most of the known resistances. It is essential, therefore, that the search for new genes will continue, followed by their mapping by molecular markers and introgression into the elite varieties by marker-assisted selection (MAS). The reservoir of genes for disease and pest resistance in wild emmer wheat (Triticumdicoccoides) is an important resource that must be made available to wheat breeders. The majority of resistance genes that were introgressed so far in cultivated wheat are resistance (R) genes. These genes, though confering near-immunity from the seedling stage, are often overcome by the pathogen in a short period after being deployed over vast production areas. On the other hand, adult-plant resistance (APR) is usually more durable since it is, in many cases, polygenic and confers partial resistance that may put less selective pressure on the pathogen. In this project, we have screened a collection of 480 wild emmer accessions originating from Israel for APR and seedling resistance to PST. Seedling resistance was tested against one Israeli and 3 North American PST isolates. APR was tested on accessions that did not have seedling resistance. The APR screen was conducted in two fields in Israel and in one field in the USA over 3 years for a total of 11 replicates. We have found about 20 accessions that have moderate stripe rust APR with infection type (IT 5). Two novel loci were found for seedling resistance. Further investigation of the 6BL locus and the effect of Yr36 showed that the 6BL locus and the Yr36 have additive effect and that the presence of favorable alleles of both loci results in reduction of 2 grades in the IT score. To identify alleles conferring adaption to extreme climatic conditions, we have associated the patterns of genomic variation in wild emmer with historic climate data from the accessions’ collection sites. The analysis of population stratification revealed four genetically distinct groups of wild emmer accessions coinciding with their geographic distribution. Partitioning of genomic variance showed that geographic location and climate together explain 43% of SNPs among emmer accessions with 19% of SNPs affected by climatic factors. The top three bioclimatic factors driving SNP distribution were temperature seasonality, precipitation seasonality, and isothermality. Association mapping approaches revealed 57 SNPs associated with these bio-climatic variables. Out of 21 unique genomic regions controlling heading date variation, 10 (~50%) overlapped with SNPs showing significant association with at least one of the three bioclimatic variables. This result suggests that a substantial part of the genomic variation associated with local adaptation in wild emmer is driven by selection acting on loci regulating flowering. Conclusions: Wild emmer can serve as a good source for novel APR and seedling R genes for stripe rust resistance. APR for stripe rust is a complex trait conferred by several loci that may have an additive effect. GWAS is feasible in the wild emmer population, however, its detection power is limited. A panel of wild emmer tagged with more than 150K SNP is available for further GWAS of important traits. The insights gained by the bioclimatic-gentic associations should be taken into consideration when planning conservation strategies.