Leaf rust resistance gene Lr1, isolated from bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a member of the large psr567 gene family

In hexaploid wheat, leaf rust resistance gene Lr1 is located at the distal end of the long arm of chromosome 5D. To clone this gene, an F₁-derived doubled haploid population and a recombinant inbred line population from a cross between the susceptible cultivar AC Karma and the resistant line 87E03-S2B1 were phenotyped for resistance to Puccinia triticina race 1-1 BBB that carries the avirulence gene Avr1. A high-resolution genetic map of the Lr1 locus was constructed using microsatellite, resistance gene analog (RGA), BAC end (BE), and low pass (LP) markers. A physical map of the locus was constructed by screening a hexaploid wheat BAC library from cultivar Glenlea that is known to have Lr1. The locus comprised three RGAs from a gene family related to RFLP marker Xpsr567. Markers specific to each paralog were developed. Lr1 segregated with RGA567-5 while recombinants were observed for the other two RGAs. Transformation of the susceptible cultivar Fielder with RGA567-5 demonstrated that it corresponds to the Lr1 resistance gene. In addition, the candidate gene was also confirmed by virus-induced gene silencing. Twenty T ₁ lines from resistant transgenic line T ₀-938 segregated for resistance, partial resistance and susceptibility to Avr1 corresponding to a 1:2:1 ratio for a single hemizygous insertion. Transgene presence and expression correlated with the phenotype. The resistance phenotype expressed by Lr1 seemed therefore to be dependant on the zygosity status. T ₃-938 sister lines with and without the transgene were further tested with 16 virulent and avirulent rust isolates. Rust reactions were all as expected for Lr1 thereby providing additional evidence toward the Lr1 identity of RGA567-5. Sequence analysis of Lr1 indicated that it is not related to the previously isolated Lr10 and Lr21 genes and unlike these genes, it is part of a large gene family.