A major and stable QTL confers impatiens necrotic spot virus resistance in lettuce cv. Eruption

Abstract Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) has recently emerged as a major threat to lettuce production in the Salinas Valley of California, the region which contributes over 60% of the U.S. national supply. This thrips-transmitted virus can infect lettuce plants at any growth stage, causing premature death or a total loss of marketability. Both INSV and its thrips vector have broad host ranges, which complicate disease management. Utilizing genetic resistance is the most sustainable approach; however, complete immunity has not been identified and the genetic basis of resistance to INSV in lettuce remains poorly understood. This study aimed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) and elucidate the underlying mechanism of INSV resistance in ‘Eruption’, a lettuce cultivar exhibiting highly stable partial resistance across environments. Using 162 F6:8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from a cross between moderately susceptible ‘Reine des Glaces’ and ‘Eruption’, and a genetic linkage map comprising 1,598 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, phenotypic data collected from field and greenhouse experiments consistently revealed a highly significant, major QTL on linkage group 2. This QTL exhibited partial dominance with additive effects, explaining up to 61% of the total phenotypic variation for INSV disease severity. Furthermore, INSV resistance was found to be highly heritable, with heritability estimates of up to 0.89, indicating strong genetic control. Results of this study are crucial for fine mapping and the development of marker-assisted selection assays to accelerate the breeding of more advanced INSV-resistant lettuce cultivars.