Cold-tolerant strains of <i>Puccinia striiformis</i> f.sp. <i>tritici</i> (<i>MLG1</i> and <i>MLG2</i>) persist under snow, triggering early epidemic of stripe rust in the Xinjiang region, China.

ABSTRACT: Global warming has changed snowfall patterns in recent years worldwide, which affected the timing and severity of wheat stripe rust outbreaks. In wheat-growing areas of Xinjiang, China, where cold temperatures prevail and snow typically accumulates after cultivation, stripe rust epidemics have traditionally emerged after snowmelt. However, the recently delayed snowfall in some regions has led to earlier-than-expected outbreaks. The role of spores of different Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst) genotypes surviving under snow remains largely unexplored. We performed Pst sampling at three stages in the Yili region of Xinjiang: (i) previous crop in summer May 2023, (ii) early infection before snowfall in the next winter cropping season during December 2023, an

SUBMITTER: Awais M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12932588 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature