Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) is one of the main diseases of maize, which greatly reduces production and causes millions of dollars in losses worldwide annually. Identification of NCLB resistance genes in maize plays an important role in the crop disease resistance breeding. In this study, a BC1F1 population with 1290 individuals was constructed using high resistance line CML493 and high susceptible line PH4CV. In total, 50 resistant individuals and 50 susceptible individuals from the BC1F1 population were selected to construct 4 DNA pools (also with the two parents) which were used for high-throughput sequencing. The key candidate genes associated with NCLB resistance genes were identified using BSA-seq and KASP platforms. The results showed that 3 genes including CDPK21, HEX9, and MKKK18 were identified and this prediction was further verified by RT-qPCR. The annotation functions were sugar signaling, calcium signaling, and MAPK signaling pathways. This research provided key NCLB resistance candidate genes and also provided important markers for disease resistance breeding in maize.

北方玉米叶枯病（NCLB）是玉米的主要病害之一，它极大地降低了产量，并在全世界每年造成数百万美元的损失。玉米中NCLB抗性基因的鉴定在作物抗病育种中起重要作用。在这项研究中，使用高抗性品系CML493和高易感性品系PH4CV构建了一个拥有1290个个体的BC1F1种群。总共，从BC1F1群体中选择了50个抗性个体和50个易感个体，以构建4个DNA池（也有两个亲本）用于高通量测序。使用BSA-seq和KASP平台鉴定了与NCLB抗性基因相关的关键候选基因。结果显示CDPK21，HEX9等3个基因，并确定了MKKK18，并通过RT-qPCR进一步验证了这一预测。注释功能是糖信号传导，钙信号传导和MAPK信号传导途径。该研究提供了关键的NCLB抗性候选基因，也为玉米抗病育种提供了重要的标志。