The Dn7 gene confers antibiosis resistance to wheat curl mite and Russian wheat aphid in bread wheat

The wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella Keifer, and the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov, destroy and reduce yields in all wheat growing areas across the world. Wheat genotypes containing the Dn7 gene have resistance to all North American D. noxia biotypes, but Dn7 resistance to A. tosichella is uncharacterized. Genotypes conferring dual resistance to D. noxia and A. tosichella can optimize yields in growing regions where both pests are present. Our objective was to evaluate antibiosis resistance to the two A. tosichella North American biotypes in a Dn7-wheat genotype. Populations of both biotypes were significantly lower on plants of the Dn7-wheat genotype than on plants of the susceptible variety Jagger, but they were not significantly different from the mite-resistant control OK05312. We conclude that the Dn7 gene confers antibiosis resistance to all biotypes of A. tosichella and D. noxia in bread wheat.