Powdery Mildew Resistance in Gerbera: Mode of Inheritance, Quantitative Trait Locus Identification, and Resistance Responses

Abstract

Gerbera (Gerbera hybrida) is an important floricultural crop in the United States and worldwide. Powdery mildew (PM) caused by Podosphaera xanthii is the most common and destructive disease in gerbera production and landscape use. Gerbera breeding line UFGE 31-19 is one of the few sources of resistance to PM in gerbera and has contributed its resistance to new gerbera cultivars. To determine the mode of inheritance for PM resistance in UFGE 31-19, one of its PM-resistant (PM-R) progeny, UFGE 4033, was crossed with PM-susceptible (PM-S) cultivar, Sunburst Snow White, and their progeny were evaluated for PM severity. Distribution of PM severity ratings among the progeny was continuous but with two peaks, suggesting that the PM resistance in UFGE 4033 and UFGE 31-19 is a quantitative trait, likely controlled by major genes. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) identified 17 molecular markers present in UFGE 4033 and the PM-R bulk but absent in ‘Sunburst Snow White’ and the PM-S bulk. Eleven of the molecular markers were mapped to one genetic linkage group, and two regions on this linkage group together explained 71.1% of the phenotypic (PM severity rating) variance in the segregating population. It was proposed that the two regions be named Rpx1 and Rpx2 (resistance to P. xanthii). Conidia of P. xanthii inoculated on the leaf surface of UFGE 4033 germinated, formed secondary germ tubes, and formed appressoria at high percentages, similar to those on the leaf surface of ‘Sunburst Snow White’. However, P. xanthii hyphae branched significantly less, were significantly shorter, and produced substantially fewer conidia on the leaf surface of UFGE 4033 and its PM-R progeny than on the leaf surface of ‘Sunburst Snow White’. These results should provide a sound foundation for use of UFGE 31-19 and progeny UFGE 4033 in gerbera disease resistance breeding and facilitate further investigation and understanding of the genetic bases of PM resistance in gerbera.