Characterizing Virulence of the Pyrenophora tritici-repentis Isolates Lacking Both ToxA and ToxB Genes

The fungus Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Ptr) causes tan spot of wheat crops, which is an important disease worldwide. Based on the production of the three known necrotrophic effectors (NEs), the fungal isolates are classified into eight races with race 4 producing no known NEs. From a laboratory cross between 86–124 (race 2 carrying the ToxA gene for the production of Ptr ToxA) and DW5 (race 5 carrying the ToxB gene for the production of Ptr ToxB), we have obtained some Ptr isolates lacking both the ToxA and ToxB genes, which, by definition, should be classified as race 4. In this work, we characterized virulence of two of these isolates called B16 and B17 by inoculating them onto various common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and durum (T. turgidum L.) genotypes. It was found that the two isolates still caused disease on some genotypes of both common and durum wheat. Disease evaluations were also conducted in recombinant inbred line populations derived from two hard red winter wheat cultivars: Harry and Wesley. QTL mapping in this population revealed that three genomic regions were significantly associated with disease, which are different from the three known NE sensitivity loci. This result further indicates the existence of other NE-host sensitivity gene interactions in the wheat tan spot disease system.