Title of Research Project
Development of soybean varieties or germplasm resistant to Sclerotinia stem rot
Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigators
Dechun Wang
Department of Crop & Soil Sciences
Michigan State University
A384E Plant & Soil Sciences Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
Ranking of the Research Areas
Germplasm Enhancement/Variety Development
Research Objectives
The long-term goal of this project is to develop soybean varieties or germplasm that have a high level of resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot. The short-term supporting objectives are:
- Evaluate breeding lines for level of resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot and agronomic performance.
- Characterize the genes underlying partial resistance in two newly identified sources of resistance, PI 391589B and FC 30233.
Major achievements in 2005
For objective 1:
- 5 advanced lines were tested in white mold nurseries in Wisconsin and Michigan in 2005. Four lines showed resistance (DSI < 7) in both nurseries (Craig Grau, 2005, personal communication).
- 53 F4:6 lines with potential resistance selected from 801 F4:5 lines tested in 2004 were evaluated for agronomic traits in the field and for resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot in the greenhouse. 12 F4:7 lines were selected for further evaluation.
- Two novel greenhouse evaluation methods for large scale evaluation of breeding materials for resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot were developed. The methods were published in Plant Disease (see list of publications below).
- One variety and one germplasm with resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot were released (see list of publications below).
For objective 2:
- A population of 94 F2 derived lines from the cross PI 391589B x IA 2053 was genotyped with 109 SSR DNA markers.
- The population was also evaluated for level of resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot in the field and in the greenhouse.
- Nine SSR markers were found associated with resistance to the disease at P <0.005 level in single marker analysis.
- Three QTLs for resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot were identified with the composite interval mapping method.
- A manuscript reporting the results was submitted to Crop Science (see list of publications below).
List of Publications from This Research
Diers, B.W., F.J. Kopisch-Obuch, D. Hoffman, C.R. Grau, and D. Wang. 2006. Registration of ‘A X N-1-55’ soybean germplasm with partial resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot. Crop Sci. 46:1403-1404.
Wang, D., J. Boyse, and B.W. Diers. 2006. Registration of 'Skylla' Soybean. Crop Sci. 46:974-975.
Guo, X., and D. Wang. 2006. Genetic Mapping of QTLs Underlying Partial Sclerotinia Stem Rot Resistance in Soybean PI 391589B. Crop Sci.:(in review).
Chen, Y., C.R. Grau, A.E. Dorrance, J.Q. Liu, Y. Wang, and D. Wang. 2006. The drop-mycelium greenhouse evaluation method in prediction of field resistance to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in soybean, p. 46, In Proceedings of 2006 Sclerotinia Initiative Annual Meeting, Bloomington, MN.
Chen, Y., and D. Wang. 2005. Two convenient methods to evaluate soybean for resistance to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Plant Dis. 89:1268-1272.
Research plan in 2006
- Field test the 12 selected F4:7 lines at 4 locations for agronomic traits and Sclerotinia stem rot resistance and select the best lines as candidate for future germplasm or variety release.
- Field test over 50 selected F4:6 lines with potential resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot at 2 locations for agronomic traits and select best lines for further evaluation.
- Genotype a population segregating for resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot derived from FC 30233 with SSR DNA markers and evaluate the population for Sclerotinia stem rot resistance.
