Research advances in molecular breeding of powdery mildew resistance of wheat

Powdery mildew is caused by Erysiphe graminis D.C. f. sp. tritici (Em.Marchal) and is one of the main diseases of cultivated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Growing resistant cultivars has proved to be an economically effective approach of controlling the disease. Molecular markers are widely used in the study on powdery mildew resistance genes in wheat. Until now, 38 resistance gene loci (Pm1～Pm38) for powdery mildew have been identified and located on different chromosomes, of which 57 loci from 41 alleles are successfully tagged or mapped. This article describes the source and utilization of powdery mildew resistance genes as well as recent research on molecular markers. Latest progress in molecular breeding of resistance to powdery mildew in wheat is discussed in detail. This study provides a reference for molecular breeding for resistance to powdery mildew in wheat.