Genome-wide association analysis of type II resistance to Fusarium head blight in common wheat.

Sixty-six significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were identified ( < 0.001) on fifteen chromosomes that explained the phenotypic variation ranging from 5.4 to 11.2%. Some important new MTAs in genomic regions involving FHB resistance were found on chromosomes 2A, 3B, 5B, 6A, and 7B. Six MTAs at 92 cM on chromosome 7B were found in cultivars from two different environments. Moreover, there were 11 MTAs consistently associated with diseased spikelet rate and diseased rachis rate as pleiotropic effect loci and on chromosome 5D was novel for FHB resistance. Eight new candidate genes of FHB resistance were predicated in wheat in this study. Three candidate genes, , , and on chromosome 5DS, 6AS, and 7BL, respectively, were perhaps important in defending against FHB by regulating intramolecular transferase activity, GTP binding, or chitinase activity in wheat, but further validation in needed. In addition, a total of five favorable alleles associated with wheat FHB resistance were discovered. These results provide important genes/loci for enhancing FHB resistance in wheat breeding by marker-assisted selection.