Copy Number Variation of Multiple Genes at <i>Rhg1</i> Mediates Nematode Resistance in Soybean

David E. Cook(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Tong Geon Lee(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Xiaoli Guo(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Sara Melito(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Kai Wang(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Adam M. Bayless(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Jianping Wang(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Teresa J. Hughes(University of Wisconsin–Madison), David K. Willis(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Thomas E. Clemente(University of Nebraska–Lincoln), Brian W. Diers(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Jiming Jiang(University of Wisconsin–Madison), Matthew E. Hudson(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Andrew F. Bent(University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Science
October 12, 2012
10.1126/science.1228746
Cited by 657

Abstract

The rhg1-b allele of soybean is widely used for resistance against soybean cyst nematode (SCN), the most economically damaging pathogen of soybeans in the United States. Gene silencing showed that genes in a 31-kilobase segment at rhg1-b, encoding an amino acid transporter, an α-SNAP protein, and a WI12 (wound-inducible domain) protein, each contribute to resistance. There is one copy of the 31-kilobase segment per haploid genome in susceptible varieties, but 10 tandem copies are present in an rhg1-b haplotype. Overexpression of the individual genes in roots was ineffective, but overexpression of the genes together conferred enhanced SCN resistance. Hence, SCN resistance mediated by the soybean quantitative trait locus Rhg1 is conferred by copy number variation that increases the expression of a set of dissimilar genes in a repeated multigene segment.

Related Papers

No related papers found

Powered by citation graph analysis