RFLP mapping of the Ha 2 cereal cyst nematode resistance gene in barley

The cereal cyst nematode (CCN), Heterodera avenae Woll., is an economically damaging pest of barley in many of the world’s cereal-growing areas. The development of CCN-resistant cultivars may be accelerated through the use of molecular markers. A number of resistance genes against the pest are well known; one of them, the single dominant Ha 2 resistance gene, has been shown to be effective against the Australian pathotype and maps to chromosome 2 of barley. Segregation analysis identified two restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers flanking the resistance gene in two doubled-haploid populations of barley. AWBMA 21 and MWG 694 mapped 4.1 and 6.1 cM respectively from the Ha 2 locus in the Chebec×Harrington cross and 4.0 and 9.2 cM respectively in the Clipper×Sahara cross. Analysis of a further seven sources of CCN resistance in the form of near-isogenic lines (NILs) indicates that all available sources of resistance to the Australian pathotype of CCN in barley represent the Ha 2 locus.