Identification of resistance sources and mapping of resistance QTLs to African strains of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causing Bacterial Leaf Blight in rice.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight (BB) and is considered as the most important disease of rice in irrigated environment (Fig.1) The disease was reported in Africa in the 80s, since then it is increasing in importance. The use of varietal resistance has proven to be very efficient in Asia in controlling the disease but selection and deployment of resistant varieties are still lacking in Africa. Recently we reported differences between Asian and African strains of X. oryzae pv. oryzae and the existence of three new races (A1,A2,A3). The objectives are to identify sources of resistance to Xoo African strains among O.glaberrima germplasm, to conduct a QTL analysis using the reference population IR64xAzucena to further identify genes controlling BB resistance in rice. Throughout the project we are using GCP products (genetic resources, markers). NARS capacities are strengthened through the transfer of skills.