Why is this population important?

Parental lines

USG 3209 possesses all three of the adult-plant resistance loci for powdery mildew resistance initially identified in its parent Massey and is widely grown in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. Jaypee is moderately susceptible to powdery mildew but has superior milling (higher flour yields) and baking quality (softer flour texture) compared to USG 3209. Initial quality analyses indicate that progeny derived from these two parents will vary sufficiently to study the inheritance and identity of genes governing milling and baking quality.

The map

Powdery mildew is one of the most prevalent diseases of wheat in the mid-Atlantic area with annual losses of 10-30% in susceptible cultivars. With the current exception of resistance gene Pm17, effectiveness of race-specific major genes is temporal, generally less than 5 years, in commercial cultivars. Adult-plant resistance is non-race specific and has remained effective in cultivars for more than 25 years. However, this type of resistance is quantitative in nature, controlled by several genes having additive effects, and difficult to assess and incorporate into new cultivars using traditional breeding and selection techniques. Therefore, the main research objective is to identify DNA markers that are adjacent to or a part of resistance genes and to use these markers to select elite wheat lines and cultivars possessing multiple genes conferring durable resistance to powdery mildew.