Rmg8 and Rmg7, wheat genes for resistance to the wheat blast fungus, recognize the same avirulence gene AVR‐Rmg8

Summary Rmg8 and Rmg7 are genes for resistance to the wheat blast fungus (Pyricularia oryzae), located on chromosome 2B in hexaploid wheat and chromosome 2A in tetraploid wheat, respectively. AVR‐Rmg8, an avirulence gene corresponding to Rmg8, was isolated from a wheat blast isolate through a map‐based strategy. The cloned fragment encoded a small protein containing a putative signal peptide. AVR‐Rmg8 was recognized not only by Rmg8, but also by Rmg7, suggesting that these two resistance genes are equivalent to a single gene from the viewpoint of resistance breeding.