Sources and Genetics of Spot Blotch Resistance to a New Pathotype of Cochliobolus sativus in the USDA National Small Grains Collection

Abstract

Spot blotch, caused by Cochliobolus sativus, is one of the important barley diseases in the northern Great Plains of the United States and the Prairie Provinces of Canada. The disease has been under control for almost five decades due to the use of durable spot blotch resistance derived from the barley line ND B112. However, the emergence of isolate ND4008 with virulence on ND B112 prompted us to identify new sources of resistance to this new pathotype. In this study, we screened 2,062 barley accessions from the United States Department of Agriculture National Small Grains Collection for spot blotch resistance, and identified 40 barley accessions exhibiting a high level of resistance to isolate ND4008 at the seedling stage. In all, 24 of the barley accessions with seedling resistance also exhibited moderate to high adult plant resistance to ND4008 in greenhouse tests. Seven of the ND4008-resistant barley accessions showed seedling resistance to two other pathotypes (1 and 2) of the pathogen. Genetic study of resistant barley accessions PI 235186, PI 592275, and PI 643242 indicated that a single major dominant gene controls spot blotch resistance to ND4008 in each of these three accessions. These resistant sources are useful for developing barley cultivars with spot blotch resistance to all pathotypes of C. sativus.