Stem rust resistance in wheat is suppressed by a subunit of the mediator complex

Colin W. Hiebert*, Matthew J. Moscou, Tim Hewitt, Burkhard Steuernagel, Inma Hernández-Pinzón, Phon Green, Vincent Pujol, Peng Zhang, Matthew N. Rouse, Yue Jin, Robert A. McIntosh, Narayana Upadhyaya, Jianping Zhang, Sridhar Bhavani, Jan Vrána, Miroslava Karafiátová, Li Huang, Tom Fetch, Jaroslav Doležel, Brande B.H. WulffEvans Lagudah, Wolfgang Spielmeyer

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    45 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Stem rust is an important disease of wheat that can be controlled using resistance genes. The gene SuSr-D1 identified in cultivar ‘Canthatch’ suppresses stem rust resistance. SuSr-D1 mutants are resistant to several races of stem rust that are virulent on wild-type plants. Here we identify SuSr-D1 by sequencing flow-sorted chromosomes, mutagenesis, and map-based cloning. The gene encodes Med15, a subunit of the Mediator Complex, a conserved protein complex in eukaryotes that regulates expression of protein-coding genes. Nonsense mutations in Med15b.D result in expression of stem rust resistance. Time-course RNAseq analysis show a significant reduction or complete loss of differential gene expression at 24 h post inoculation in med15b.D mutants, suggesting that transcriptional reprogramming at this time point is not required for immunity to stem rust. Suppression is a common phenomenon and this study provides novel insight into suppression of rust resistance in wheat.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number1123
    JournalNature Communications
    Volume11
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2020

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