Three Decades of Rust Surveys in the United States Reveal Drastic Virulence Changes in Oat Crown Rust

To better understand how the pathogenicity of the oat crown rust pathogen Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae (Pca) has changed in the United States, 30 years of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey isolates (n = 5,456) tested on 30 to 40 differential lines were analyzed for overall and Pc-resistance-gene-specific virulence trends and correlations. Pca is incredibly pathologically diverse, with 88% of races represented by a single isolate. There are a slightly higher proportion of unique races from the Northern region of the United States, and for one fourth of the years, Northern region isolates were significantly more virulent than Southern isolates, which supports the idea that sexual recombination in this region is mediated by the alternate host as a major factor in creating new races. However, there is also support for regular isolate movement between North and South regions as isolates in the United States are steadily accumulating virulences at a rate of 0.35 virulences per year. Virulence significantly increased for 23 and decreased for four of the 40 differential lines. In the past few years, virulence has reached 90% or greater for 16 differential lines. There were also strong correlations in virulence for certain Pc genes that are likely identical, allelic, or target the same or closely linked pathogen effectors (e.g., Pc39, Pc55, and Pc71), and the results were largely in concordance with recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) effector studies using USDA isolate subsets. Understanding changes in Pca pathogenicity is essential for the responsible deployment and management of Pc resistance genes for sustainable and profitable oat production.

Patterns of Virulence in Natural Populations of Puccinia coronata on Wild Oat in Israel and in Agricultural Populations on Cultivated Oat in the United States

ABSTRACT Crown rust (Puccinia coronata) in indigenous populations of Avena sterilis has been cited as an example of stability of wild pathosystems that consist of natural mixtures of resistance and virulence. This study confirmed that virulence/avirulence polymorphisms in P. coronata on A. sterilis in Israel are highly diverse and that super races do not dominate. Isolates of P. coronata from Israel in 1991 to 1996 were polymorphic for virulence to 35 of 36 differential oat lines with resistance genes from A. sterilis. On average, isolates of P. coronata were more highly virulent to differentials with Pc genes from A. sterilis accessions from Israel than to differentials with Pc genes from other countries. Isolates from Israel also were more virulent on average to 10 additional differentials with Pc genes derived from A. sativa than to differentials with Pc genes from A. sterilis. Frequencies of virulence were usually higher in collections of P. coronata from Israel than in collections from cultivated oat in the United States, even though several of the Pc genes in the differentials have been used extensively in American oat cultivars. Mean virulence complexity of P. coronata from eight regions of Israel was not correlated with the distribution of resistance among collections of A. sterilis from previous surveys in the same areas, probably because pathogen migration between regions within Israel is sufficient to obscure effects of selection locally.

INHERITANCE OF RESISTANCE TO PUCCINIA CORONATA AVENAE AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SEED CHARACTERISTICS IN FOUR ACCESSIONS OF AVENA STERILIS

The inheritance of resistance to oat crown rust Puccinia coronata Cda. f. sp. avenae Eriks. was studied in four accessions of Avena sterilis L. Three of the accessions, CAV 4963, CAV 1358 and CAV 1376, originated from Israel, and one, CAV 1964, from Algeria. Seedling rust tests on F2 backcross families indicated that a single recessive gene, Pc-55, in CAV 4963 conditioned seedling resistance to 10 of 12 crown rust isolates tested. In CAV 1964, a single dominant gene Pc-56 conferred resistance in both the adult and seedling stages to all crown rust isolates tested except race 239, while a second dominant gene conditioned resistance to only two of the twelve cultures used. From adult and seedling tests it appeared that the resistance in CAV 1358 and CAV 1376 was conditioned by a number of recessive minor additive genes. The genes Pc-55 and Pc-56 are not allelic with the A. sterilis derived genes Pc-35, Pc-38, Pc-40, Pc-45, Pc-46, Pc-47, Pc-48, and Pc-50. Genes Pc-39 and Pc-55 are either very closely linked or allelic and Pc-56 is not closely linked to either Pc-39 or Pc-55. The usefulness of genes Pc-55 and Pc-56 was demonstrated in tests which showed that both genes were effective against 99.8 and 94.5%, respectively, of all crown rust cultures isolated in Canada in 1974 and 1975. The genes for seed color and awn character did not appear to be linked to the crown rust resistance genes. In CAV 4963, CAV 1358 and CAV 1376 the genes for grey color and wild type awns appeared to be linked with recombination values of about 2, 23 and 18%, respectively.

INHERITANCE OF CROWN RUST RESISTANCE GENES IN AVENA STERILIS COLLECTIONS FROM ISRAEL, PORTUGAL, AND TUNISIA

The inheritance of genes in three collections of Avena sterilis wild oats conferring resistance to races 216, 264, 295, 305, 326, 330, 332, and 446 of crown rust, Puccinia coronata avenae, was investigated. C. I. 8081 from Portugal contained a partially dominant gene, designated Pc47, which conferred resistance to all eight races. CW486 from Tunisia had a dominant gene, designated Pc50, which gave resistance to all races except 295, 326, and 446. F158 from Israel had two dominant genes; one, designated Pc48, conferred resistance to all the races but 305, while the second, designated Pc49, conferred resistance to races 216, 326, 330, 332, and 446. Genes Pc47, Pc48, Pc49, and Pc50 were inherited independently of each other and of those genes previously isolated from A. sterilis.