Abstract
For Brassica crop breeders, weedy crucifers are potential sources of disease resistance and other useful traits. However, few species have been evaluated or are well represented in germplasm collections. In this study, we evaluated 24 Eurasian crucifer species for disease reaction to North American isolates of the crop pathogens A. brassicicola and X. campestris pv. campestris. The test array comprised 190 entries (genebank accessions and weed populations), including 108 B. nigra entries from four geographic regions and 34 entries of Camelina sativa. Disease reaction was highly variable between species and within some species. Reaction to A. brassicicola was variable between entries of C. sativa, a species reported as highly resistant to Alternaria pathogens. In B. nigra, disease reaction was variable between geographic regions and between entries within some regions. Most of the B. nigra entries rated as disease resistant were weed populations from North America, but disease reaction was not related to the geographic distance between these populations. In summary, disease reaction to two crop pathogens was variable in crucifer weed taxa, including species considered to contain little genetic variation. We identified entries with promising levels of disease resistance and highlighted the potential value of weedy crucifer genetic resources.
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Westman, A.L., Kresovich, S. & Dickson, M.H. Regional variation in Brassica nigra and other weedy crucifers for disease reaction to Alternaria brassicicola and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Euphytica 106, 253–259 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003544025146
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003544025146