Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat, causing yield losses, reduced grain quality, and mycotoxin contamination. Breeding can mitigate the severity of FHB epidemics, especially with genomics-assisted methods. The mechanisms underlying resistance to FHB in wheat have been extensively studied, including phenological traits and genome-wide markers associated with FHB severity. Here, we aimed to improve genomic prediction for FHB resistance across breeding programs by incorporating FHB-correlated traits and FHB-associated loci as model covariates. We combined phenotypic data on FHB severity, anthesis date, and plant height with genome-wide marker data from five Central European winter wheat breeding programs for genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic prediction. Within all populations, FHB was correlated with anthesis date and/or plant height, and a marker linked to the semi-dwarfing locus Rht-D1 was detected with GWAS for FHB. Including the Rht-D1 marker, anthesis date, and/or plant height as covariates in genomic prediction modeling improved prediction accuracy not only within populations but also in cross-population scenarios.
Keywords: Fusarium head blight; GBLUP; GWAS; Rht-D1; genomic prediction; trait covariates; wheat.
Copyright © 2024 Morales, Akdemir, Girard, Neumayer, Reddy Nannuru, Shahinnia, Stadlmeier, Hartl, Holzapfel, Isidro-Sánchez, Kempf, Lillemo, Löschenberger, Michel and Buerstmayr.