The durable wheat disease resistance gene Lr34 confers common rust and northern corn leaf blight resistance in maize

摘要

Maize (corn) is one of the most widely grown cereal crops globally. Fungal diseases of maizecause significant economic damage by reducing maize yields and by increasing input costs fordisease management. The most sustainable control of maize diseases is through the release andplanting of maize cultivars with durable disease resistance. The wheat gene Lr34 providesdurable and partial field resistance against multiple fungal diseases of wheat, including threewheat rust pathogens and wheat powdery mildew. Because of its unique qualities, Lr34 becamea cornerstone in many wheat disease resistance programmes. The Lr34 resistance is encoded bya rare variant of an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter that evolved after wheatdomestication. An Lr34-like disease resistance phenotype has not been reported in other cerealspecies, including maize. Here, we transformed the Lr34 resistance gene into the maize hybridHi-II. Lr34-expressing maize plants showed increased resistance against the biotrophic fungaldisease common rust and the hemi-biotrophic disease northern corn leaf blight. Furthermore,the Lr34-expressing maize plants developed a late leaf tip necrosis phenotype, without negativeimpact on plant growth. With this and previous reports, it could be shown that Lr34 is effectiveagainst various biotrophic and hemi-biotrophic diseases that collectively parasitize all majorcereal crop species.