A winter wheat genome-wide association study identifies a large effect Fusarium head blight resistance haplotype using diverse lines from US breeding programs

@article{tidakbi2026winter,
  title = {{A winter wheat genome-wide association study identifies a large effect Fusarium head blight resistance haplotype using diverse lines from US breeding programs}},
  author = {Lawrence Tidakbi and Hongliang Wang and Amy Bernardo and Paul St. Amand and Allan Fritz and Guorong Zhang and Myron Bruce and Jessica L Rupp Noller and Gina Brown-Guedira and Guihua Bai and John Fellers and Mary J Guttieri and Katherine W Jordan},
  journal = {G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/g3journal/jkag291},
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkag291/8923654},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - A winter wheat genome-wide association study identifies a large effect Fusarium head blight resistance haplotype using diverse lines from US breeding programs
AU  - Lawrence Tidakbi
AU  - Hongliang Wang
AU  - Amy Bernardo
AU  - Paul St. Amand
AU  - Allan Fritz
AU  - Guorong Zhang
AU  - Myron Bruce
AU  - Jessica L Rupp Noller
AU  - Gina Brown-Guedira
AU  - Guihua Bai
AU  - John Fellers
AU  - Mary J Guttieri
AU  - Katherine W Jordan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/15
JO  - G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
DO  - 10.1093/g3journal/jkag291
UR  - https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkag291/8923654
AB  - Fusarium head blight, primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum in North America, is a devastating disease in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The characteristic mycotoxin production and reduced grain fill cause several million metric tons of annual crop and economic losses. Exome capture-generated single nucleotide polymorphisms from 269 winter wheat breeding lines and cultivars representing most US wheat-growing regions were associated with Fusarium head blight resistance using a genome-wide association study. The panel was evaluated for Fusarium head blight symptoms in the Rocky Ford FHB nursery (Manhattan, KS) across 3 field seasons. Significant variation was observed for Fusarium head blight incidence (%), area under the disease progress curve, Fusarium-damaged kernels (%), and deoxynivalenol (ppm). Data analysis revealed significant Fusarium head blight disease trait correlations (r = 0.32 to 0.70) across years and moderate broad-sense heritability (H2) estimates (0.65 to 0.74). We identified 22 significant loci representing priority breeding targets for combating Fusarium head blight damage. Many loci reside within proximity to previously identified native quantitative trait loci. A 1BL haplotype from the soft winter wheat cultivar “Jamestown” reduced area under the disease progress curve and Fusarium-damaged kernels by 25% and deoxynivalenol by 18%, demonstrating Fusarium head blight resistance in an environment different from its native environment. We developed kompetitive allele-specific polymorphism assays to identify this resistance haplotype and 5 other target single nucleotide polymorphisms for future incorporation in breeding pipelines increasing Fusarium head blight resistance. Our findings highlight breeding progress demonstrated by the increased frequency of many resistant alleles in adapted varieties and breeding lines and emphasize pyramiding native Fusarium head blight resistance regions as the next step to prevent Fusarium head blight losses.
SN  - 2160-1836
ER  -