Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference
October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota
Decoding Subgenome-Specific Defense Programs Underlying Bacterial Leaf Streak Resistance in Triticale
Fahad
Hasan
Doctoral Student
North Dakota State University
Co-authors: Fazal Mannan, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Edward Cedrick Fernandez, Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, Zhaohui Liu, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Zhikai Liang, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University
Session
Poster number: 12
Ballroom
Triticale (xTriticosecale Wittmack), an artificially developed hexaploid cereal crop (2n = 6x = 42, AABBRR), represents a unique intergenic hybrid combining durum wheat (Triticum durum) and rye (Secale cereale). This synthetic polyploid species combines the superior yield and grain quality of durum and stress resilience of rye. Despite gaining significant agricultural importance within the last few decades, particularly as a forage crop, triticale’s susceptibility to bacterial leaf streak (BLS) caused by Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa (Xtu), has emerged as a notable constraint for limiting its full cultivation potential. Because defense in triticale is partitioned across the A, B, and R subgenomes, understanding how homoeologs coordinate or diverge under infection is essential for breeding. We interrogated the cultivar ‘Siskiyou’ challenged with two Xtu strains that elicit contrasting outcomes (LB10: resistant; P3: susceptible), sampling leaves across 24-96 hpi to resolve the temporal architecture of host responses. A polyploid-aware and subgenome-resolved transcriptomic framework revealed time-ordered defense programs and homoeolog-biased modules that distinguish common and divergent responses. By clarifying how polyploid genome architecture in Triticale shapes BLS defense, this work delivers tractable gene and regulatory targets for improving resistance in triticale—and provides transferable insights synthetic hexaploids—thereby helping stabilize forage supply and buffer production against increasingly variable disease pressure.