Molecular breeding for wheat fusarium head blight resistance in China

Wheat Fusarium head blight (FHB) may cause serious losses in grain yield and quality in China. More than 7 million hectares which approximately accounts for 25% of the total areas in China is infected by the disease. The cultivation of wheat varieties with resistance to Fusarium head blight is recognized as one of the most important components to diminish losses due to this disease. Chinese wheat breeders have commenced the research on FHB since 1950s. Wheat cultivars with improved FHB resistance were developed through conventional breeding. Some famous resistant varieties such as Sumai 3, Yangmai 158 and Ning 7840 were released from Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, these varieties were widely applied in wheat production and breeding programs. Significant achievements concerning molecular mapping and marker assisted selection have been made in the past decade. The major QTL on chromosome 3BS was identified and located in the same region on chromosome 3BS in Sumai 3, Ning 894037, Wangshuibai, and Chinese Spring. Using SSR marker in this QTL region for assisted selection, some lines with the same resistance to FHB were obtained. New STS markers and SSCP markers were developed and will be tested for the efficiency of MAS. However, further achievements are still hindered by a number of constraints. More FHB resistance genetic resources from landrace in middle to lower reaches of Yangtze River are necessary to be used for improving FHB resistant. The genetic mechanism of the varieties contributing the resistance to improved cultivars is needed to be understood. Development of functional markers for FHB is discussed.