Molecular and Physical Mapping of Powdery Mildew Resistance Genes and QTLs in Wheat: A Review

Wheat powdery mildew(Pm) is a major disease of wheat worldwide. During the past years, numerous studies have been published on molecular mapping of Pm resistance gene(s) in wheat. We summarized the relevant findings of 89 major resistance gene mapping studies and 25 quantitative trait loci(QTL) mapping studies. Major Pm resistance genes and QTLs were found on all wheat chromosomes, but the Pm resistance genes/QTLs were not randomly distributed on each chromosome of wheat. The summarized data showed that the A or B genome has more major Pm resistance genes than the D genome and chromosomes 1A, 2A, 2B, 5B, 5D, 6B, 7A and 7B harbor more major Pm resistance genes than the other chromosomes. For adult plant resistance(APR) genes/QTLs, B genome of wheat harbors more APR genes than A and D genomes, and chromosomes 2A, 4A, 5A, 1B, 2B, 3B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 2D, 5D and 7D harbor more Pm resistance QTLs than the other chromosomes,suggesting that A genome except 1A, 3A and 6A, B genome except 4B, D genome except 1D, 3D, 4D, and 6D play an important role in wheat combating against powdery mildew. Furthermore, Pm resistance genes are derived from wheat and its relatives, which suggested that the resistance sources are diverse and Pm resistance genes are diverse and useful in combating against the powdery mildew isolates. In this review, four APR genes, Pm38/Lr34/Yr18/Sr57, Pm46/Lr67/Yr46/Sr55, Pm?/Lr27/Yr30/Sr2 and Pm39/Lr46/Yr29, are not only resistant to powdery mildew but also effective for rust diseases in the field, indicating that such genes are stable and useful in wheat breeding programmes. The summarized data also provide chromosome locations or linked markers for Pm resistance genes/QTLs. Markers linked to these genes can also be utilized to pyramid diverse Pm resistance genes/QTLs more efficiently by marker-assisted selection.