Genome-Wide Screening of Broad-Spectrum Resistance to Leaf Rust ( Eriks) in Spring Wheat ( L.).

Wheat leaf rust (LR) causes significant yield losses worldwide. In Egypt, resistant cultivars began to lose their efficiency in leaf rust resistance. Therefore, a diverse spring wheat panel was evaluated at the seedling stage to identify new sources of broad-spectrum seedling resistance against the Egyptian () races. In three different experiments, seedling evaluation was done using spores collected from different fields and growing seasons. Highly significant differences were found among experiments confirming the presence of different races population in each experiment. Highly significant differences were found among the tested genotypes confirming the ability to select superior genotypes. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted for each experiment and a set of 87 markers located within 48 gene models were identified. The identified gene models were associated with disease resistance in wheat. Five gene models were identified to resist all races in at least two experiments and could be identified as stable genes under Egyptian conditions. Ten genotypes from five different countries were stable against all the tested races but showed different degrees of resistance.