Genome-wide association study on stem rust resistance in Kazakh spring barley lines

摘要

BackgroundStem rust (SR) is one of the most economically devastating barley diseases in Kazakhstan, and in some years it causes up to 50 % of yield losses. Routine conventional breeding for resistance to stem rust is almost always in progress in all Kazakhstan breeding stations. However, molecular marker based approach towards new SR resistance genes identification and relevant marker-assisted selection had never been employed in Kazakhstan yet. In this study, as a preliminary step the GWAS (genome-wide association study) mapping was applied in attempt to identify reliable SNP markers and quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance to SR.