Genetic protection of Afghan barley accessions from greenbug

Background. Growing genetically protected barley cultivars is considered the most cost-efficient method to control the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum Rondani. Unfortunately, this dangerous phytophage is capable of rapidly overcoming plant resistance. Accessions of local barleys from Asian countries that entered the collection of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources could serve as a rich source of new effective resistance genes.

Materials and methods. Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the resistance of 65 barley accessions from Afghanistan and 7 pure lines, isolated from heterogeneous accessions in previous studies, to the Krasnodar greenbug population using a scoring scale. The study also included cv. ‘Post’ (k-31204, USA, carrier of the Rsg1 resistance gene), and lines isolated from barley landrace accessions k-15903, k-15600, k-16190 (China), k-4080, k-3885, k-3904 (Mongolia) and cv. ‘Onokhoisky’ (k-16626, Buryatia, Russia), each containing one gene controlling low plant damage, as well as a line isolated from cv. ‘Namji Milyang Native K647 1007’ (k-28129, North Korea), protected by dominant and recessive genes. Genetic control of greenbug resistance in the lines from Afghanistan was studied using aphid test clones and hybridological analysis.

Results and conclusions. Eight heterogeneous accessions from Afghanistan had plants displaying a high level of resistance to S. graminum. Assessing cv. ‘Post’ and seven lines isolated from Afghan accessions for their response to 93 aphid clones made it possible to identify 29 virulence phenotypes. All seven lines contained resistance alleles that differed from one another and from those that we had previously identified. In most cases, the efficacy of the genes protecting the lines isolated from Afghan accessions was low. Two lines, 20209 and 22421, were resistant to aphid populations. Line 22421 exhibited monogenic dominant control of the trait.

1. Abdullaev R.A., Batasheva B.A., Alpatieva N.V., Chumakov M.A., Radchenko E.E., Kovaleva O.N. et al. Resistance of barley cultivars approved for use in Russia to harmful organisms and toxic aluminum ions. Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding. 2020;181(3):120-127. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.30901/2227-8834-2020-3-120-127

2. Anstead J.A., Burd J.D., Shufran K.A. Over-summering and biotypic diversity of Schizaphis graminum (Homoptera: Aphididae) populations on noncultivated grass hosts. Environmental Entomology. 2003;32(3):662-667. DOI: 10.1603/0046-225X-32.3.662

3. Armstrong J.S., Mornhinweg D.W., Payton M.E., Puterka G.J. The discovery of resistant sources of spring barley, Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum, and unique greenbug biotypes. Journal of Economic Entomology. 2016;109(1):434-438. DOI: 10.1093/jee/tov320

4. Azhaguvel P., Mornhinweg D., Vidya-Saraswathi D., Rudd J.C., Chekhovskiy K., Saha M. et al. Molecular mapping of greenbug (Schizaphis graminum) resistance gene Rsg1 in barley. Plant Breeding. 2014;133(2):227-233. DOI: 10.1111/pbr.12143

5. Edwards L.H., Smith E.L., Pass H., Morgan G.H. Registration of Post barley. Crop Science. 1985;25(2):363.

6. Gardenhire J.H., Chada H.L. Inheritance of greenbug resistance in barley. Crop Science. 1961;1(5):349-352. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci1961.0011183X000100050016x

7. Gardenhire J.H., Tuleen N.A., Stewart K.W. Trisomic analysis of greenbug resistance in barley, Hordeum vulgare L. Crop Science. 1973;13(6):684-685. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci1973.0011183X001300060029x

8. Merkle O.G., Webster J.A., Morgan G.H. Inheritance of a second source of greenbug resistance in barley. Crop Science. 1987;27(2):241-243. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci1987.0011183X002700020023x

9. Puterka G.J., Peters D.C., Kerns D.L., Slosser J.E., Bush L., Worrall D.W. et al. Designation of two new greenbug (Homoptera: Aphididae) biotypes G and H. Journal of Economic Entomology. 1988;81(6):1754-1759. DOI: 10.1093/jee/81.6.1754

10. Radchenko E.E. Cereal aphids (Zlakovye tli). In: The study of the genetic resources of cereal crops for resistance to harmful organisms. Guidelines (Izucheniye geneticheskikh resursov zernovykh kultur po ustoychivosti k vrednym organizmam. Metodicheskoye posobiye). Мoscow: Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences; 2008. p.214-257. [in Russian]

11. Radchenko E.E., Abdullaev R.A., Akimova D.E., Anisimova I.N. Genetic diversity of barley accessions from East Asia for greenbug resistance. Plants (Basel). 2023a;12(22):3797. DOI: 10.3390/ plants12223797

12. Radchenko E.E., Abdullaev R.A., Akimova D.E., Zajtseva I.Y. Genetic diversity of barley accessions from Mongolia for greenbug resistance. Ecological Genetics. 2022;20(3):175-182. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.17816/ecogen105875

13. Radchenko E.E., Abdullaev R.A., Dyatlova K.D., Akimova D.E., Zveinek I.A. Diversity of barley accessions from the Asian part of Russia in greenbug resistance. Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding. 2023b;184(4):215-221. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.30901/2227-8834-2023-4-215-221

14. Radchenko E.E., Alpatieva N.V., Chumakov M.A., Abdullaev R.A. Variability of the North Caucasian populations of the greenbug for host virulence and discovered by molecular markers. Russian Journal of Genetics. 2019;55(11):1417-1425. DOI: 10.1134/S1022795419110127

15. Radchenko E.E., Kuznetsova T.L., Chumakov M.A., Loskutov I.G. Greenbug (Schizaphis graminum) resistance in oat (Avena spp.) landraces from Asia. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 2018;65(2):571-576. DOI: 10.1007/s10722-017-0554-9

16. Radchenko E.E., Kuznetsova T.L., Zveinek I.A., Kovaleva O.N. Greenbug resistance in barley accessions from East and South Asia. Russian Agricultural Sciences. 2014;40(2):117-120. DOI: 10.3103/S1068367414020177

17. Radchenko E.E., Odintsova I.G., Vlasova T.V. Inheritance of a weakly expressed greenbug resistance in sorghum. Russian Journal of Genetics. 2001;37(10):1144-1149. DOI: 10.1023/A:1012352521382

18. Radchenko E.E., Zubov A.A. Genetic diversity of sorghum in greenbug resistance. Russian Agricultural Sciences. 2007;33(4):223-225. DOI: 10.3103/S1068367407040039

19. Shaposhnikov G.Kh. Aphid evolution in connection with specialization and changes of hosts (Evolyutsiya tley v svyazi so spetsializatsiyey i smenoy khozyayev) [dissertation]. Leningrad: Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences; 1967. [in Russian]

20. Smith O.D., Schlehuber A.M., Curtis B.C. Inheritance studies of greenbug (Toxoptera graminum Rond.) resistance in four varieties of winter barley. Crop Science. 1962;2(6):489-491.

21. Xu X., Mornhinweg D., Bai G., Li G., Bian R., Bernardo A. Characterization of a new barley greenbug resistance gene Rsg4 in the Chinese landrace CI 2458. The Plant Genome. 2024;17(4):e20527. DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20527

22. Xu X., Mornhinweg D., Bai G., Li G., Bian R., Bernardo A. et al. Characterization of Rsg3, a novel greenbug resistance gene from the Chinese barley landrace PI565676. The Plant Genome. 2023;16(1):e20287. DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20287

23. Xu X., Mornhinweg D., Bernardo A., Li G., Bian R., Steffenson B.J. et al. Characterization of Rsg2.a3: A new greenbug resistance allele at the Rsg2 locus from wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum). The Crop Journal. 2022;10(6):1727-1732. DOI: 10.1016/j.cj.2022.01.010

24. Xu X., Mornhinweg D.W., Bai G., Steffenson B., Bian R., Li G. et al. Rsg1.a3: A new allele conferring unique resistance to greenbug Biotype H at the Rsg1 locus in Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum. Crop Science. 2021;61(5):3578-3585. DOI: 10.1002/csc2.20581