Abstract
SINCE the well-known experiments of Biffen, in which the rust resistance of wheat to Puccinia glumarum was shown to behave as a simple Men-delian recessive character, numerous amplifying investigations have taken place. In Swedish experiments Nilsson-Ehle obtained less regular results, finding usually a lack of dominance and segregation in indefinite ratios. In the meantime, extensive studies have been made of the black stem-rust, Puccinia graminis tritici, which causes enormous losses in American wheat crops. It has been shown that numerous biologic forms of this fungus exist which differ in their action on particular wheat varieties. Rust nurseries have been established for isolating, and experimenting with the effects of, various races of rust. It was found that numerous biologic forms of this fungus sometimes existed in the same locality, a wheat variety being susceptible to some and resistant to others. This greatly complicates the work of breeding for rust resistance, but an emmer wheat from India has been found to be resistant to all forms of rust yet encountered. The conception of bridging species, or the modification in virulence of a fungus by growth on an intermediate host, is being discredited by the further investigation of these biologic races.
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G., R. Genetics of Cereals. Nature 107, 250–251 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107250b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107250b0