Septoria tritici blotch resistance gene Stb15 encodes a lectin receptor-like kinase
Septoria tritici blotch (STB), caused by the Dothideomycete fungus Zymoseptoria tritici, is one of the most damaging diseases of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)<sup>1</sup> and the target of costly fungicide applications<sup>2</sup>. In line with the fungus's apoplastic lifestyle, STB resistance genes isolated to date encode receptor-like kinases (RLKs) including a wall-associated kinase (Stb6) and a cysteine-rich kinase (Stb16q)<sup>3,4</sup>. Here we used genome-wide association studies on a diverse panel of 300 whole-genome shotgun-sequenced wheat landraces (WatSeq consortium<sup>5</sup>) to identify a 99-kb region containing six candidates for the Stb15 resistance gene. Mutagenesis and transgenesis confirmed a gene encoding an intronless G-type lectin RLK as Stb15. The characterization of Stb15 exemplifies the unexpected diversity of RLKs conferring Z. tritici resistance in wheat.
Authors
- Luzie U. Wingen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4682-4764)
- Brande B. H. Wulff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4044-4346)
- Amber N. Hafeez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4692-5001)
- Shifeng Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1617-1747)
- Mei Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2751-7124)
- Wenfei Xian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7253-2389)
- Laëtitia Chartrain
- Mark A. Smedley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6162-4795)
- Oliver R. Powell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5624-8126)
- Markus C. Kolodziej (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3155-2935)
- Florence Cambon
- Şadiye Hayta
- Martha Clarke
- Beat Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2379-9225)
- Simon Griffiths (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2435-7963)
- Cyrille Saintenac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3791-301X)
- James K. M. Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8719-2268)
- Burkhard Steuernagel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8284-7728)
- Cong Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5453-6879)
- Rachel Kirby
Institutions
- John Innes Centre (GB)
- Université Clermont Auvergne (FR)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Norwich Research Park (GB)
- Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (DE)
- Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (CN)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Génétique, Diversité, Écophysiologie des Céréales (FR)
- Technical University of Munich (DE)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Plants
- Published
- 2025-03-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-01920-2
- Citations
- 14
- Primary Topic
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 21.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- National Key Research and Development Program of China