Molecular marker-facilitated pyramiding of different genes for powdery mildew resistance in wheat

Breeding durable resistance to pathogens and pests is a major task for mode rn plant breeders and pyramiding different resistance genes into a genotype is one way of achieving this. Three powdery mildew resistance gene combina tions, Pm2 + Pm4a, Pm2 + Pm21, Pm4a + Pm21 were successfully integrated int o an elite wheat cultivar 'Yang158'. Double homozygotes were selected from a small F-2 population with the help of molecular markers. As the parents w ere near-isogenic lines (NILs) of 'Yang158', the progenies showed good unif ormity in morphological and other non-resistance agronomic traits. The pres ent work illustrates the bright prospects for the utilization of molecular markers in breeding For host resistance.