Intragenic allele pyramiding combines different specificities of wheat Pm3 resistance alleles.

Some plant resistance genes occur as allelic series, with each member conferring specific resistance against a subset of pathogen races. In wheat, there are 17 alleles of the Pm3 gene. They encode nucleotide-binding (NB-ARC) and leucine-rich-repeat (LRR) domain proteins, which mediate resistance to distinct race spectra of powdery mildew. It is not known if specificities from different alleles can be combined to create resistance genes with broader specificity. Here, we used an approach based on avirulence analysis of pathogen populations to characterize the molecular basis of Pm3 recognition spectra. A large survey of mildew races for avirulence on the Pm3 alleles revealed that Pm3a has a resistance spectrum that completely contains that of Pm3f, but also extends towards additional races. The same is true for the Pm3b and Pm3c gene pair. The molecular analysis of these allelic pairs revealed a role of the NB-ARC protein domain in the efficiency of effector-dependent resistance. Analysis of the wild-type and chimeric Pm3 alleles identified single residues in the C-terminal LRR motifs as the main determinant of allele specificity. Variable residues of the N-terminal LRRs are necessary, but not sufficient, to confer resistance specificity. Based on these data, we constructed a chimeric Pm3 gene by intragenic allele pyramiding of Pm3d and Pm3e that showed the combined resistance specificity and, thus, a broader recognition spectrum compared with the parental alleles. Our findings support a model of stepwise evolution of Pm3 recognition specificities.

Brunner S ，Hurni S ，Streckeisen P ，Mayr G ，Albrecht M ，Yahiaoui N ，Keller B ... -  《-》

Allelic series of four powdery mildew resistance genes at the Pm3 locus in hexaploid bread wheat.

At the Pm3 locus in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum), 10 alleles conferring race-specific resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici) are known. A cluster of genes encoding coiled-coil-nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat proteins spans the Pm3 locus on wheat chromosome 1A, and one member of this gene family has recently been identified as the Pm3b resistance gene. Using molecular markers closely linked to Pm3b, we performed haplotype analysis of 10 lines carrying different Pm3 alleles. All these lines have a conserved genomic region delimited by markers cosegregating with Pm3b and including a structurally conserved Pm3b-like gene. A polymerase chain reaction-based strategy allowed the amplification of one Pm3b-like sequence from lines carrying Pm3a, Pm3d, and Pm3f alleles. These candidate genes for Pm3a, Pm3d, and Pm3f conferred AvrPm3a-, AvrPm3d-, and AvrPm3f-dependent resistance, respectively, to wheat powdery mildew in a single cell transient transformation assay. A high level of amino acid similarity (97.8%) was found between the PM3A, PM3B, PM3D, and PM3F proteins. The coiled-coil domain was 100% conserved, whereas, in the nucleotide binding site region, sequence exchange was detected, indicating intragenic recombination or gene conversion between alleles. All these results indicate that Pm3a, Pm3b, Pm3d, and Pm3f form a true allelic series. The low level of sequence divergence between the four characterized alleles as well as the finding of a conserved Pm3 haplotype are in agreement with the hypothesis of a recent evolution of Pm3-based resistance, suggesting that some or most of the diversity found at the Pm3 locus in modern wheat has evolved after wheat domestication.

Srichumpa P ，Brunner S ，Keller B ，Yahiaoui N ... -  《-》

Transgenic Pm3 multilines of wheat show increased powdery mildew resistance in the field.

Resistance (R) genes protect plants very effectively from disease, but many of them are rapidly overcome when present in widely grown cultivars. To overcome this lack of durability, strategies that increase host resistance diversity have been proposed. Among them is the use of multilines composed of near-isogenic lines (NILs) containing different disease resistance genes. In contrast to classical R-gene introgression by recurrent backcrossing, a transgenic approach allows the development of lines with identical genetic background, differing only in a single R gene. We have used alleles of the resistance locus Pm3 in wheat, conferring race-specific resistance to wheat powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici), to develop transgenic wheat lines overexpressing Pm3a, Pm3c, Pm3d, Pm3f or Pm3g. In field experiments, all tested transgenic lines were significantly more resistant than their respective nontransformed sister lines. The resistance level of the transgenic Pm3 lines was determined mainly by the frequency of virulence to the particular Pm3 allele in the powdery mildew population, Pm3 expression levels and most likely also allele-specific properties. We created six two-way multilines by mixing seeds of the parental line Bobwhite and transgenic Pm3a, Pm3b and Pm3d lines. The Pm3 multilines were more resistant than their components when tested in the field. This demonstrates that the difference in a single R gene is sufficient to cause host-diversity effects and that multilines of transgenic Pm3 wheat lines represent a promising strategy for an effective and sustainable use of Pm3 alleles.

Brunner S ，Stirnweis D ，Diaz Quijano C ，Buesing G ，Herren G ，Parlange F ，Barret P ，Tassy C ，Sautter C ，Winzeler M ，Keller B ... -  《-》

Multiple Avirulence Loci and Allele-Specific Effector Recognition Control the Pm3 Race-Specific Resistance of Wheat to Powdery Mildew.

In cereals, several mildew resistance genes occur as large allelic series; for example, in wheat (Triticum aestivum and Triticum turgidum), 17 functional Pm3 alleles confer agronomically important race-specific resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis). The molecular basis of race specificity has been characterized in wheat, but little is known about the corresponding avirulence genes in powdery mildew. Here, we dissected the genetics of avirulence for six Pm3 alleles and found that three major Avr loci affect avirulence, with a common locus_1 involved in all AvrPm3-Pm3 interactions. We cloned the effector gene AvrPm3(a2/f2) from locus_2, which is recognized by the Pm3a and Pm3f alleles. Induction of a Pm3 allele-dependent hypersensitive response in transient assays in Nicotiana benthamiana and in wheat demonstrated specificity. Gene expression analysis of Bcg1 (encoded by locus_1) and AvrPm3 (a2/f2) revealed significant differences between isolates, indicating that in addition to protein polymorphisms, expression levels play a role in avirulence. We propose a model for race specificity involving three components: an allele-specific avirulence effector, a resistance gene allele, and a pathogen-encoded suppressor of avirulence. Thus, whereas a genetically simple allelic series controls specificity in the plant host, recognition on the pathogen side is more complex, allowing flexible evolutionary responses and adaptation to resistance genes.

Bourras S ，McNally KE ，Ben-David R ，Parlange F ，Roffler S ，Praz CR ，Oberhaensli S ，Menardo F ，Stirnweis D ，Frenkel Z ，Schaefer LK ，Flückiger S ，Treier G ，Herren G ，Korol AB ，Wicker T ，Keller B ... -  《-》

Independent evolution of functional Pm3 resistance genes in wild tetraploid wheat and domesticated bread wheat.

The Pm3 alleles of cultivated bread wheat confer gene for gene resistance to the powdery mildew fungus. They represent a particular case of plant disease resistance gene evolution, because of their recent origin and possible evolution after the formation of hexaploid wheat. The Pm3 locus is conserved in tetraploid wheat, thereby allowing the comparative evolutionary study of the same resistance locus in a domesticated species and in one of its wild ancestors. We have identified 61 Pm3 allelic sequences from wild and domesticated tetraploid wheat subspecies. The Pm3 sequences corresponded to 24 different haplotypes. They showed low sequence diversity, differing by only a few polymorphic sequence blocks that were further reshuffled between alleles by gene conversion and recombination. Polymorphic sequence blocks are different from the blocks found in functional Pm3 alleles of hexaploid wheat, indicating an independent evolution of the Pm3 loci in the two species. A new functional gene was identified in a wild wheat accession from Syria. This gene, Pm3k, conferred intermediate race-specific resistance to powdery mildew, and consists of a mosaic of gene segments derived from non-functional alleles. This demonstrates that Pm3-based resistance is not very frequent in wild tetraploid wheat, and that the evolution of functional resistance genes occurred independently in wild tetraploid and bread wheat. The Pm3 sequence variability and geographic distribution indicated that diversity was higher in wild emmer wheat from the Levant area, compared with the accessions from Turkey. Further screens for Pm3 functional genes in wild wheat should therefore focus on accessions from the Levant region.

Yahiaoui N ，Kaur N ，Keller B 《-》