Mapping a dominant negative mutation for triforine sensitivity in lettuce and its use as a selectable marker for detecting hybrids

Abstract

Some lettuce cultivars are highly sensitive to triforine, an inhibitor of sterol biosynthesis found in some commercial systemic fungicides. First symptoms of a sensitive reaction are usually observed within 24–48 h after treatment and include severe wilting, necrosis and rapid plant death. We mapped a single dominant gene (Tr) that confers sensitivity of lettuce to triforine to linkage group 1 of the integrated genetic map of lettuce. The occurrence of sensitivity is not uniform across horticultural types of lettuce. While over 80% of green-romaine lettuce cultivars tested were sensitive, most cultivars of all other lettuce types were insensitive to triforine. All accessions of wild Lactuca spp. were insensitive to triforine. Allelism tests using F₁ and F₂ progeny revealed that sensitive cultivars of all horticultural types likely carry the same Tr gene. The dominant allele for sensitivity found in cultivated lettuce probably had a monophyletic origin. The reaction to triforine can be used as a marker for detecting hybrids originating from a cross between phenotypically similar parents with different responses to triforine treatment. It also provides an indication of genotypes for which applications of triforine-containing fungicides are inappropriate.