Gene B5 in Cotton Confers High and Broad Resistance to Bacterial Blight and Conditions High Amounts of Sesquiterpenoid Phytoalexins.

Bacterial blight resistance gene B5 has received little attention since it was first described in 1950. A near-isogenic line (NIL) of Gossypium hirsutum cotton, AcB5, was generated in an otherwise bacterial-blight-susceptible 'Acala 44' background. The introgressed locus B5 in AcB5 conferred strong and broad-spectrum resistance to bacterial blight. Segregation patterns of test crosses under Oklahoma field conditions indicated that AcB5 is likely homozygous for resistance at two loci with partial dominance gene action. In controlled-environment conditions, two of the four copies of B5 were required for effective resistance. Contrary to expectations of gene-for-gene theory, AcB5 conferred high resistance toward isogenic strains of Xanthomonas citri subsp. malvacearum carrying cloned avirulence genes avrB4, avrb7, avrBIn, avrB101, and avrB102, respectively, and weaker resistance toward the strain carrying cloned avrb6. The hypothesis that each B gene, in the absence of a polygenic complex, triggers sesquiterpenoid phytoalexin production was tested by measurement of cadalene and lacinilene phytoalexins during resistant responses in five NILs carrying different B genes, four other lines carrying multiple resistance genes, as well as susceptible Ac44E. Phytoalexin production was an obvious, but variable, response in all nine resistant lines. AcB5 accumulated an order of magnitude more of all four phytoalexins than any of the other resistant NILs. Its total levels were comparable to those detected in OK1.2, a highly resistant line that possesses several B genes in a polygenic background.

Pyramiding B genes in cotton achieves broader but not always higher resistance to bacterial blight.

Near-isogenic lines of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) carrying single, race-specific genes B4, BIn, and b7 for resistance to bacterial blight were used to develop a pyramid of lines with all possible combinations of two and three genes to learn whether the pyramid could achieve broad and high resistance approaching that of L. A. Brinkerhoff's exceptional line Im216. Isogenic strains of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. malvacearum carrying single avirulence (avr) genes were used to identify plants carrying specific resistance (B) genes. Under field conditions in north-central Oklahoma, pyramid lines exhibited broader resistance to individual races and, consequently, higher resistance to a race mixture. It was predicted that lines carrying two or three B genes would also exhibit higher resistance to race 1, which possesses many avr genes. Although some enhancements were observed, they did not approach the level of resistance of Im216. In a growth chamber, bacterial populations attained by race 1 in and on leaves of the pyramid lines decreased significantly with increasing number of B genes in only one of four experiments. The older lines, Im216 and AcHR, exhibited considerably lower bacterial populations than any of the one-, two-, or three-B-gene lines. A spreading collapse of spray-inoculated AcBIn and AcBInb7 leaves appears to be a defense response (conditioned by BIn) that is out of control.

Four near-isogenic lines of cotton with different genes for bacterial blight resistance.

ABSTRACT The development and genetic characterization of four near-isogenic lines (NILs) of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is described herein. Each line contains a single, but different, gene for resistance to bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum. The lines were derived using at least six backcrosses to the susceptible recurrent parent 'Acala 44', followed by single plant-progeny row selection for uniformity. The NILs are homozygous for the B(2), B(4), B(In), or b(7) genes and are designated as AcB(2), AcB(4), AcB(In), and Acb(7), respectively. In the 'Acala 44' background, B(2), B(4), and B(In) are partially dominant genes; b(7) is partially recessive. Relative strengths of resistance conferred by those genes toward race 1 of the pathogen were B(4) b(7)>B(In) B(2). B(4), B(In), and b(7) each conferred resistance toward X. campestris pv. malvacearum carrying a single avirulence gene, whereas B(2) was less specific.