Addition of chromosome 4R from Hungarian rye cultivar Lovászpatonai confers resistance to stripe rust and outstanding end-use quality in wheat

•Wheat- rye 4R addition line has been identified using FISH, GISH and SSR markers.•Under field conditions this addition line is resistant to stripe rust.•Compositional properties and end-use quality of this line are outstanding.

The Hungarian rye (Secale cereale L., 2n = 2x = 14, RR) cultivar Lovászpatonai possesses numerous agronomically useful traits that can be exploited in wheat breeding. This study reports on the production, molecular cytogenetic identification, and evaluation of resistance to wheat stripe (or yellow) rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) under field conditions of a newly developed wheat-rye (Mv9kr1-‘Lovászpatonai’) disomic 4R addition line. Analysis of grain quality properties showed that the transfer of ‘Lovászpatonai’ chromosome 4R into wheat significantly increased the total arabinoxylan and protein content. This genetic material proved to be resistant to stripe rust in 2014 and 2015 when epidemics broke out in Hungary. It is assumed that this addition line carries an effective, new resistance gene different from that on rye chromosome arm 1RS of the 1RS.1BL translocation. The Mv9kr1-‘Lovászpatonai’ 4R addition line is a promising pre-breeding material being the first step towards creating translocation lines in order to transfer stripe rust resistance as well as high protein and dietary fibre content into cultivated wheat without deleterious effects on yield and grain quality.