Inheritance and expression of resistance to Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor (Say)); in wheat
[Thesis]
A. Amri
T. S. S. Cox, R. G.
Kansas State University
1989
135
Ph.D.
Kansas State University
1989
Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say), is a major pest of wheat in many parts of the United States and Morocco. During the last thirty years, damage from this insect was effectively prevented in the U.S. by the use of genetic resistance. These studies were conducted to (1) provide an accurate estimate of yield loss, using BC3F3 near-isogenic resistant and susceptible lines, and (2) investigate new sources of resistance to Hessian fly, study their inheritance, and determine their chromosome location and their expression at different temperature regimes. The results indicated that grain yield loss due to Hessian fly infestations on bread wheat was estimated to be 38 percent. The extent of damage depended mostly on the developmental stage of the plant at the time of infestation. Out of 217 Tunisian durum wheat land races, 88, 86, and 59 percent were considered potential sources of resistance against biotypes Great Plains (GP), D, and L of Hessian fly in the U.S., respectively. The genetic study of resistance in four Moroccan durum wheat cultivars revealed three new genes, all effective at temperatures up to 27C. The gene in the cultivar 'Jori' was assigned to chromosome 2B using 'Langdon' D-genome disomic-substitution stocks. None of the tested durums was resistant under Moroccan conditions. The screening of Aegilops and Triticum species showed that no antibiosis is found on species having the A, B or S genomes, whereas species with the D genome showed more than 75 percent of resistant accessions. Besides the genes H5, H, and H that are effective in Morocco, two new genes derived from Ae. squarrosa and designated H{20} and H{21} are available to protect bread wheat. The resistance in 'Seneca' to biotype GP appeared to be controlled by two independent dominant genes having complementary epistatic effects. One of these genes was located on chromosome 5D using monosomic analysis. The expression of these new genes from durum wheat, and the genes H{20} and H{21} was not affected by temperature up to 27C. The temperature sensitivity of H5 depended on its genetic background.