Pyrenophora tritici-repentis population structure in the Republic of Kazakhstan and identification of wheat germplasm resistant to tan spot

Pyrenophora tritici-repentis is a causative agent of tan spot in wheat. In recent years, there has been an increasing spread and harmfulness of wheat tan spot. The aim of the research was to study the racial composition of the P. tritici-repentis population in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A collection of 30 common wheat accessions, including promising lines and cultivars from Kazakhstan and CIMMYT–ICARDA, was assessed for resistance to P. tritici- repentis in a greenhouse and characterized using the Xfcp623 molecular marker, diagnostic for the Tsn1 gene. Monosporic isolates of P. tritici-repentis isolated from the southeastern region were assigned to certain races based on the manifestation of symptoms of necrosis/chlorosis on standard differentials (Glenlea, 6B662, 6B365). Five races of P. tritici-repentis have been identified, including races 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8. It has been shown that races 1 and 8 of P. tritici-repentis are dominant. As a result of the analysis of the frequency of occurrence of the P. tritici-repentis races, it was found that race 1 (50 %) producing Ptr ToxA and Ptr ToxB and race 8 (35 %) producing Ptr ToxA, Ptr ToxB and Ptr ToxC turned out to be dominant. From a practical point of view, of greatest interest are 16 wheat samples, which demonstrated resistance to race 1 and confirmed insensitivity to Ptr ToxA in a molecular screening. These include eight Kazakhstani (4_PSI, 10204_2_KSI, 10204_3_KSI, 10205_2_KSI, 10205_3_KSI, 605_SP2, 632_SP2, Dana) and seven foreign lines (KR11-20, KR11-03, KR11-9014, 11KR-13, KR11-9025, KR12-07, GN-68/2003). The results of this study are of interest in wheat breeding programs for tan spot resistance.