Abstract
The stripe or yellow rust of wheat caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis Westend f. sp. tritici is the most common disease in wheat. It affects the productivity and quality of wheat throughout the world. Thirty six (36) wheat genotypes were evaluated for disease resistance against stripe rust under epiphytotic condition in two consecutive years, i.e., Rabi 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. The results revealed that the lines Avocet+Yr1, Avocet+Yr5, Avocet+Yr10, Avocet+Yr11, Avocet+Yr12, Avocet+Yr15, Avocet+Yr17, Avocet+Yr24, Avocet+Yr32, Avocet+Yr 80, A206, Diaz, Chilero, CIM 6, OM 7 and CIM 41 were resistant, while SKW 355 showed moderate resistance. Lines Avocet+Yr2, Avocet+Yr7 and Avocet+Yr9 and genotypes HD 2135, HUW 234, SKW 489, Agra Local, SKW 381, SKW 397, K 8020, Sonalika, SKW 389, SKW 394, HUW 510, Shalimar wheat 1 and HUW 213 were found susceptible. Protein bands obtained from seeds of 23 wheat genotypes were evaluated for diversity assessment based on SDS-PAGE. Dendrogram of proteins band on SDS-PAGE was used for the calculation of similarity coefficients and constructing tree using UPGMA cluster analysis. The greatest similarity (96%) was observed between the genotypes HUW 234 and SKW 489, PBW 343 and A 206, BD 2135 and Agra Local, Avocet+Yr1 and Agra Local, A 206 and SKW 355, Avocet+Yr32 and K 8020, CIM 7 and K 8020, and A 206 and HUW 213; while the lowest similarity (33%) was observed between SKW 381 and CIM 41. The SCAR markers, developed from polymorphic sequence-characterized amplified region, amplified only the critical DNA fragments, co-segregating within the resistant wheat genotypes. The SCAR markers validated the resistant nature of wheat genotypes and might be used in discriminating resistant and susceptible genotypes in marker assisted selection. Further, the marker assisted selection technology would be useful for plant variety identification and registration of new plant varieties.