A new gene for resistance to Dysaphis pyri in pear and identification of flanking microsatellite markers
Dysaphis pyri is an important aphid pest of European pear ( Pyrus communis ) cultivars, none of which are currently reported to be resistant. In this study, we produced a progeny of the European pear Comice crossed with an accession of snow pear (Pyrus nivalis) that segregated for resistance to D. pyri in a Mendelian fashion, indicating the presence of a major gene, Dp-1. Following screening of the parents and seedlings with microsatellite markers, cosegregation analysis indicated that Dp-1 is flanked by NH006b and NH014a on linkage group 17, 2.3 and 3.6 cM away, respectively. Evidence is also presented for the duplication of linkage groups 9 and 17, which is a consequence of the allopolyploid origin of pear.