Barley resistance to rhynchosporium: new sources and closely linked markers (PhD)

Rhynchosporium is one of the most damaging diseases of barley worldwide, particularly in cool and wet conditions.

This project aimed to provide information on the location and sources of resistance genes/quantitative trait loci (QTL) to help barley breeders improve the rhynchosporium resistance of barley varieties.

Firstly, the development of rhynchosporium was assessed in a collection of 312 barley landraces representing the worldwide diversity of spring barley. A Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) was carried out to localise genomic regions associated with the resistance and resulted in the detection of 21 QTLs.

Secondly, a biparental population study aimed to map, by linkage mapping, a resistance from a Middle East landrace and test its efficacy in a European genetic background. It resulted in a novel source of resistance at the Rrs1 locus, with markers available for marker assisted selection (MAS).