Introgression of resistance genes from wild or related species is a common strategy to improve disease resistance of wheat cultivars. Pm17 is a gene that confers powdery mildew resistance in wheat. It encodes an NLR type of immune receptor and was introgressed from rye to wheat as part of the 1RS chromosome arm translocation several decades ago. So far it was not possible to separate Pm17 from its co-introgressed rye genes due to suppressed recombination. Here we tested transgenic Bobwhite wheat, overexpressing Pm17 without any other rye genes, in the field. Four transgenic events showed high levels of PM17 protein accumulation, strong powdery mildew resistance and no pleiotropic effects during three field seasons. We used a combined approach of transgene insertion and crossbreeding to generate lines co-expressing Pm17 and Pm3, or Pm17 and Pm8, respectively. Blumeria graminis f.sp. tritici infection tests confirmed additive, race-specific resistance of the two pyramided transgenes in lines Pm17+Pm3b and Pm17+Pm8. Furthermore, pyramided lines showed strong powdery mildew resistance during three field seasons. We conclude that the combination of overexpressed NLR genes from the extended gene pool broadens and diversifies wheat disease resistance.
