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Diversity and evolution of Rp1 rust resistance genes in four maize lines

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This manuscript provides genome-level analysis of disease resistance genes in four maize lines, including studies of haplotype and resistance gene number as well as selection and recombination.

Abstract

The Rp1 locus of maize is a complex resistance gene (R-gene) cluster that confers race-specific resistance to Puccinia sorghi, the causal agent of common leaf rust. Rp1 NB-LRR disease resistance genes were isolated from two Rp1 haplotypes (HRp1-B and HRp1-M) and two maize inbred lines (B73 and H95). Sixty-one Rp1 genes were isolated from Rp1-B, Rp1-M, B73 and H95 with a PCR-based approach. The four maize lines carried from 12 to 19 Rp1 genes. From 4 to 9 of the identified Rp1 genes were transcribed in the four maize lines. The Rp1 gene nucleotide diversity was higher in HRp1-B and HRp1-M than in B73 and H95. Phylogenic analysis of 69 Rp1 genes revealed that the Rp1 genes maintained in HRp1-B, HRp1-M and H95 are evolving independently of each other, while Rp1 genes in B73 and HRp1-D appear more like each other than they do genes in the other lines. The results also revealed that the analysed Rp1 R-genes were under positive selection in HRp1-M and B73. Intragenic recombination was detected in Rp1 genes maintained in the four maize lines. This demonstrates that a genetic process that has the potential to generate new resistance genes with new specificities is active at the Rp1 locus in the four analysed maize lines and that the new resistance genes may act against newly arising pathogen races that become prevalent in the pathogen population.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Scot Hulbert for reviewing this manuscript and his helpful discussions regarding the Rp1 locus. This research was supported by the Georgia Commodity Commission for Corn (047461-01).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The experiments comply with the current laws of the country (US) in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology, The University of Georgia, 120 Carlton St., Miller Plant Science, Room 4309, 30602, Athens, Georgia

    Suchitra Chavan, Judy Gray & Shavannor M. Smith

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  1. Suchitra Chavan
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  2. Judy Gray
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  3. Shavannor M. Smith
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Correspondence to Shavannor M. Smith.

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Communicated by Y. Xu.

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Chavan, S., Gray, J. & Smith, S.M. Diversity and evolution of Rp1 rust resistance genes in four maize lines. Theor Appl Genet 128, 985–998 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-015-2484-2

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