Updated February 26, 2022:
The overall objective of this project is to develop germplasm and markers with resistance to several soil borne plant pathogens. Over the past five years this team has mapped and characterized resistance towards the soil borne pathogens, Phytophthora sojae, six different Pythium spp. and Fusarium graminearum from populations derived from soybean cultivars and plant introductions. More than 30 quantitative disease resistance loci for these pathogens have been mapped in soybean populations that were derived from high yielding parents. During this year we reported a total of 75 novel Rps loci via a genome wide association analysis. Crosses have been made, and more than a dozen germplasm lines have been developed with many more in progress. Several high yielding lines with multiple disease resistance have been released as cultivars for commercial production. Additionally, a novel locus from unadapted germplasm was identified which contributes substantially to yield under high disease pressure. Several candidate genes, which may directly control or contribute to the expression of resistance were identified for Fusarium graminearum and Phytophthora sojae. Several advanced lines developed from these sources of resistance will be entered into the United States Soybean Breeders Uniform Trial for testing during 2021.