[Breeding] Enhancing Wheat Stripe Rust Resistance Through Gene Stacking

Stripe rust remains one of the most destructive diseases affecting global wheat production. In collaboration with scientists the USDA-ARS Wheat Health, Genetics, and Quality Research Unit, our team introgressed the adult plant resistance gene Yr78 into durum wheat and evaluated its effect on stripe rust resistance. Field trials demonstrated that combining Yr78 with Yr36 significantly enhanced resistance, while additional stacking with seedling resistance genes Yr5 and Yr15 created a powerful multi-gene resistance package. These results support the development of wheat varieties with durable, multi-layered disease resistance.