Identification of genes required for the function of non-race-specific mlo resistance to powdery mildew in barley

Recessive alleles (mlo) of the Mlo locus in barley mediate a broad, non-race-specific resistance reaction to the powdery mildew fungus Erysiphe graminis f sp hordei. A mutational approach was used to identify genes that are required for the function of mlo. Six susceptible M-2 individuals were isolated after inoculation with the fungal isolate K1 from chemically mutagenized seed carrying the mlo-5 allele. Susceptibility in each of these individuals is due to monogenic, recessively inherited mutations in loci unlinked to mlo. The mutants identify two unlinked complementation groups, designated Ror1 and Ror2 (required for mlo-specified resistance), Both Ror genes are required for the function of different tested mlo alleles and for mlo function after challenge with different isolates of E. g. f sp hordei. A quantitative cytological time course analysis revealed that the host cell penetration efficiency in the mutants is intermediate compared with mlo-resistant and Mlo-susceptible genotypes. Ror1 and Ror2 mutants could be differentiated from each other by the same criterion. The spontaneous formation of cell wall appositions in mlo plants, a subcellular structure believed to represent part of the mlo defense, is suppressed in mlo/ror genotypes. In contrast, accumulation of major structural components in the appositions is seemingly unaltered. We conclude that there is a regulatory function for the Ror genes in mlo-specified resistance and propose a model in which the Mlo wild-type allele functions as a negative regulator and the Ror genes act as positive regulators of a non-race-specific resistance response.