Determination of reactions of landraces bread wheat against bunt and screening with resistance genes

Bunt (caused by Tilletia foetida (Wallr.) Liro) is a seed-borne fungal disease that can cause economic losses in wheat production. In this study, 80 local bread wheat varieties collected from five different provinces were used. These local bread wheat varieties were evaluated regarding their reactions to the bunt reactions and screened using specific genes associated with resistance. Reaction tests were conducted under artificial epidemic conditions, which involved creating a controlled environment with high disease pressure, in Kırşehir (Central) and Ankara (Polatlı) locations. The materials were manually sown in 1-meter-long rows, with a row spacing of 33 cm, at a depth of 5-7 cm, and in three replications. To test the reliability confidence limit of bunt reactions, the susceptible control genotypes Little Club and Yakar-99 were used, and the disease rate for these genotypes was evaluated as 90–100%. It was determined that the bunt inoculum source was virulent (effective) against the resistance genes Bt0, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, Bt6, and Bt7. According to the results of the molecular studies, the resistance gene Bt10 was detected in 13 of the 80 tested local bread wheat varieties, Bt8 in 9, and Bt11 in 2. In addition, a dual gene composition of Bt8 and Bt10 was identified in 2 local bread wheat varieties. On the other hand, the Bt9 resistance gene has not been detected in any of the tested varieties. The study determined that 45 of the tested local bread wheat varieties (56%) were resistant, while 35 (44%) were classified as susceptible. Resistant genotypes could serve as valuable genetic resources in breeding programs and could also contribute to the development of disease-resistant wheat lines through marker-assisted selection strategies utilizing the resistance genes Bt8, Bt9, Bt10, and Bt11.