Molecular mapping of a powdery mildew resistance gene in common wheat landrace Baihulu and its allelism with Pm24.

Powdery mildew is one of the most devastating diseases of wheat in areas with cool and maritime climates. Chinese wheat landrace Baihulu confers a high level of resistance against a wide range of Blumeria graminis DC f. sp. tritici (Bgt) races, especially those currently prevailing in Shaanxi. The objectives of this study were to determine the chromosome bin location of the mlbhl gene from Baihulu and its allelism with Pm24. To investigate the inheritance of powdery mildew resistance and detect adjacent molecular markers, we constructed a segregating population of 301 F(2) plants and corresponding F(2:3) families derived from Baihulu/Shaanyou 225. Genetic analysis revealed that a single dominant gene was responsible for seedling stage powdery mildew resistance in Baihulu. A genetic map comprising Xgwm106, Xgwm337, Xgwm1675, Xgwm603, Xgwm789, Xbarc229, Xgpw4503, Xcfd72, Xcfd83, Xcfd59, Xcfd19, and mlbhl spanned 28.2 cM on chromosome 1D. Xgwm603/Xgwm789 and Xbarc229 were flanking markers tightly linked to mlbhl at genetic distances of 1.5 and 1.0 cM, respectively. The mlbhl locus was located in chromosome bin 1DS 0.59-1.00 delimited by the SSR markers Xgwm337 and Xbarc229. When tested with a differential array of 23 Bgt isolates Baihulu displayed a response pattern that was clearly distinguishable from that of Chiyacao and varieties or lines possessing documented Pm genes. Allelism analysis indicated that mlbhl is a new gene, either allelic or closely linked with Pm24. The new gene was designated Pm24b.