Durable resistance to stripe rust is due to three specific resistance genes in French bread wheat cultivar Apache.

Quantitative resistance is postulated to be more durable than qualitative (R-gene mediated) resistance, which is usually quickly overcome by the pathogen population. Despite its wide use for nearly 10 years in France, the French bread wheat cultivar Apache remains resistant to stripe rust. Here, we investigated the genetic architecture of cv. Apache resistance to examine whether its durability could be explained by quantitative characteristics. We identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) by composite interval mapping of disease progress data recorded throughout 4 years of field assays. These assays included inoculation with three different pathotypes on a segregating population originating from a cross between cv. Apache and cv. Taldor, a French cultivar susceptible to stripe rust. Three QTLs derived from Apache, QYr.inra-2AS, QYr.inra-2BL and QYr.inra-4B, were detected. Each of these QTLs contributed between approximately 15 and 69 % of the phenotypic variance and corresponds to a race-specific resistance gene. We showed that QYr.inra-2AS and QYr.inra-2BS map to the positions of Yr17 and Yr7, respectively, whereas QYr.inra-4B corresponds to an adult plant resistance gene. Our results demonstrate that a combination of two or more race-specific resistance genes can confer durable resistance provided that it is properly managed at a continental level. Race-specific resistance genes should not be removed from breeding programs provided that they are properly managed.