Research on resistance to sunflower broomrape: an integrated vision

[EN] Sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) parasitization on sunflower was first observed at the end of the 19th century and has continued since then jeopardizing sunflower cultivation in many areas of Europe and Asia. A distinctive characteristic of the O. cumana-sunflower parasitic system...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Velasco Varo, Leonardo, Pérez-Vich, Begoña, Fernández Martínez, José María
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/158318
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/158318
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Avirulence genes
Broomrape
Genetic resistance
Orobanche cumana
Sunflower
Gènes d’avirulence
Orobanche
Résistance génétique
Tournesol
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] Sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) parasitization on sunflower was first observed at the end of the 19th century and has continued since then jeopardizing sunflower cultivation in many areas of Europe and Asia. A distinctive characteristic of the O. cumana-sunflower parasitic system is that it is mainly governed by a gene-for-gene interaction. This determines complete resistance in the host controlled by dominant alleles at a single locus, which facilitates the management of the resistance for hybrid seed production. But on the other hand avirulence in the parasite is also controlled by dominant alleles at a single gene. Monogenic, dominant resistance exerts a strong selection pressure on the parasite that maximizes the probability of overcoming resistance mechanisms in a short period of time. This has in fact resulted in a number of physiological races that periodically surpass all the available resistance sources. The spread of populations to new areas and the subsequent hybridization between populations is another mechanism creating genetic diversity in sunflower broomrape and allegedly recombination of avirulences genes. After more than one century of coexistence, genetic resistance to broomrape in sunflower has to be focused under an integrated approach that considers not only the characterization of resistance mechanisms in the host, but also the genetic and physiological bases of avirulence in the parasite. From the perspective of genetic resistance in sunflower, most important is not relying only on single dominant genes, but following instead pyramiding strategies. These should give priority to combining complementary mechanisms of resistance under both qualitative (vertical) and quantitative (horizontal) genetic control. These aspects are discussed in the paper.