Epidemics of Fusarium head blight (FHB), incited by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, in wheat cause significant reductions in grain yield and quality. Numerous quantitative trait loci (QTL) for FHB resistance have been reported from Chinese sources. However, the relationships among QTL from different landraces have not been characterized. We earlier mapped QTL for FHB resistance using low-density maps developed from five recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations involving Chinese landraces ‘Haiyanzhong’ (HYZ), ‘Wangshuibai’ (WSB), ‘Baishanyuehuang’ (BSYH), ‘Huangfangzhu’ (HFZ), and ‘Huangcandou’ (HCD) as FHB resistant parents. In this study, we used maps of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) developed from the five populations and identified 31 QTL on 16 chromosomes; 10 QTL were new. We constructed a consensus map and identified six meta-QTL (MQTL) and SNP within the MQTL regions using meta-analysis. Two of the MQTL were on chromosome 3BS (3BSd and 3BSc), and one on each of chromosomes 3A, 2D, 3D, and 4D. Twenty-two SNP closely linked to MQTL were converted into breeder friendly Kompetitive Allele Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (KASP) assays, which should be useful for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs.

Leymus mollis (Trin.) Pilger (2n = 4x = 28, NsNsXmXm,), a wild relative of common wheat, possesses many potentially valuable traits for genetic improvement of wheat, including strong, short stems, long spikes with numerous spikelets, tolerance to drought and cold stresses, and resistance to many fungal and bacterial diseases. In the present study, a wheat–L. mollis double substitution line DM96 was selected from a F₆ progeny of a cross between M842-16 (an octoploid Tritileymus line) and D4286 (a Triticum durum line) using genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, and expressed sequence tagged sequence site (EST-STS) markers. Chromosome analysis at mitosis and meiosis showed that DM96 had a chromosome constitution of 2n = 42 = 21II. GISH analysis indicated that DM96 carried 38 chromosomes from wheat and two homologous pairs of Ns chromosomes from L. mollis. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) showed that chromosomes 2Ns and 3Ns from L. mollis had replaced wheat chromosomes 2D and 3D in DM96, which was confirmed by SSR and STS markers. The newly developed substitution line DM96 has shorter height, longer spikes and more kernels than its parents and showed high resistance to stripe rust and Fusarium head blight (FHB). Thus, this line is a new bridge material for the production of useful translocation lines for wheat genetic research and genetic improvement of wheat yield and disease resistance in breeding programs.