Plant Protection (Scientific Journal of Agriculture)

Plant Protection (Scientific Journal of Agriculture)

Emergence of a new virulence pattern in Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in Borujerd, Iran, and resistance responses of major commercial wheat cultivars

Document Type : Research paper-English

Authors
F. Afshari 1
A. Omrani 2
M. Nasrollahi 3
E. Nabati 3
1 Cereal Research Department, Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
2 Crop and Horticultural Science Research Department, Ardabil Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Moghan, Iran
3 Crop and Horticultural Science Research Department, Lorestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Borujerd, Iran
10.22055/ppr.2026.52555.1897
Abstract
Stripe rust, or yellow rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most widespread and destructive fungal diseases of wheat worldwide, including in Iran. Under favorable climatic conditions and in the presence of susceptible cultivars, the disease can cause severe and irreversible yield losses. The pathogen comprises populations with diverse virulence patterns, which may change over time and threaten the durability of resistance in wheat. To characterize and compare temporal changes in the virulence pattern of the yellow rust population in the important Silakhor Plain of Borujerd, Iran, 43 differential lines from the yellow rust trap nursery carrying known Yr resistance genes, together with the susceptible cultivar Bolani and major commercial wheat cultivars of Iran, were evaluated under field conditions during the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons. In both years, yellow rust developed naturally and extensively on the susceptible Bolani cultivar, the commercial cultivars, and the standard and differential wheat lines, and their resistance responses were recorded. The results of the trap nursery in the Silakhor Plain of Borujerd showed that a marked shift in the virulence pattern of the yellow rust population occurred in the 2023 growing season. In particular, virulence to plants carrying Yr1, Yr3, Yr8, Yr18, and Yr32 was detected only in the second growing season, indicating a substantial change in the virulence spectrum of the local population. Virulence was observed in both seasons on plants carrying the Yr2, Yr6, Yr7, Yr9, Yr17, Yr20, Yr21, Yr26, Yr27, Yr31, YrA, and YrSU genes, indicating that these genes were no longer effective and suggesting the emergence and establishment of new races in the Borujerd region. Plants carrying the resistance genes Yr4, Yr5, Yr10, Yr15, Yr24, YrSD, YrSP, YrND, and YrCV remained resistant throughout the two years of the study. The commercial wheat cultivars Taktaz, Kalateh, Tirgan, Raj, Amin, Torabi, Heydari, Taban, Sana, Aran, Hana, and Shabrang all showed acceptable levels of resistance to the yellow rust population in Silakhor Plain in both growing seasons and are therefore proposed as valuable resistance sources. It is likely that the effective resistance genes in the resistant cultivars are present either singly or in combination.
Keywords
Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici
resistance genes
trap nursery
virulence
Subjects
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 © 2026 by the authors. Licensee SCU, Ahvaz, Iran. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0 license) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Plant Protection (Scientific Journal of Agriculture)
Volume 49, Issue 2
Spring 2026
Pages 137-159