8th INTERNATIONAL WHEAT CONFERENCE

oLd CzeCh WheAT CuLTIVARS AS A NeW PoSSIBLe SouRCe
of ReSISTANCe To myCoSPhAeReLLA gRAmINICoLA
Drabešová, J. 1 , Zouhar, M. 1 , Mazáková J. 1 , Ryšánek, P. 1 ,
Věchet, L. 2
1 Department of Plant Protection, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamicka 129,
165 21 Prague 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic
2 Division of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Product Quality, Crop Research Institute, Drnovska
507, 161 06 Prague 6 - Ruzyne, Czech Republic
E-mail: drabesova@af.czu.cz
Septoria tritici blotch caused by fungal pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola (Fuckel)
J.Schröt. is the one of the significant foliar diseases of wheat crops worldwide. The causal
agent survives predominantly on stubble debris, spreads by sexually formed ascospores
carried by wind from pseudothecium to young wheat plants and during the season is
spread by asexually formed pycnospores splashed by raindrops among host plants. In
favorable conditions for disease development (high rainfall, moderate temperature), the
disease can cause approximately 50 % losses by affecting and colonizing leaf tissue and
decreasing photosynthetic area. Through the last 25 years the occurrence of M. graminicola
has increased and become very important limiting factor of the grain production
in the Czech Republic. The aim of our work was to detect the resistant (Stb) genes in
national collection of the old Czech wheat cultivars that will be suitable as new sources of
resistance to Septoria tritici blotch for breeding. 183 old Czech wheat varieties and breeding
lines obtained from the Gene bank (CRI Prague) were tested for the presence of genes
of resistance using detached leaf technique. Each tested cultivar was inoculated with 8
standard single-pycnidium isolates with one of the specific virulence gene. By evaluating
sensitive and resistant reactions on leaf segments, the different combinations of the resistance
genes were detected. Selected wheat cultivars could be potentially used as donors of
resistance for wheat breeding. However, it is necessary to verify characteristics of these
cultivars using molecular biology methods.
This work was supported by grants of Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic No.:
QH81284 and Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic No.: 6046070901
246