Mapping a QTL conferring resistance to Fusarium head blight on chromosome 1B in winter wheat ( L.).

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most devastating diseases of wheat ( L.), and the development of cultivars with FHB resistance is the most effective way to control the disease. Yumechikara is a Japanese hard red winter wheat cultivar that shows moderate resistance to FHB with superior bread-making quality. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for FHB resistance in Yumechikara, we evaluated doubled haploid lines derived from a cross between Yumechikara and a moderate susceptible cultivar, Kitahonami, for FHB resistance in a 5-year field trial, and we analyzed polymorphic molecular markers between the parents. Our analysis of these markers identified two FHB-resistance QTLs, one from Yumechikara and one from Kitahonami. The QTL from Yumechikara, which explained 36.4% of the phenotypic variation, was mapped on the distal region of chromosome 1BS, which is closely linked to the low-molecular-weight glutenin subunit gene and the glume color gene . The other QTL (from Kitahonami) was mapped on chromosome 3BS, which explained 11.2% of the phenotypic variation. The close linkage between the FHB-resistance QTL on 1BS, and brings an additional value of simultaneous screening for both quality and FHB resistance using the glume color.