.................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 1 Barley .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Domestication of Barley ............................................................................................................. 2 Synteny and the Barley Genome ................................................................................................. 5 Net Blotch of Barley .................................................................................................................. 9 Taxonomy and Life Cycle of Pyrenophora teres f. teres ........................................................ 11 Genetic and Phenotypic Diversity of Pyrenophora teres f. teres ............................................ 12 Toxins Produced by Pyrenophora teres f. teres ....................................................................... 20 Host Resistance and Susceptibility to Net Form Net Blotch of Barley ................................... 23 Molecular Mechanisms of Host Resistance ............................................................................. 26 Association Mapping ................................................................................................................ 32 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER 2. ASSOCIATION MAPPING UTILIZING DIVERSE BARLEY LINES REVEALS NET FORM NET BLOTCH SEEDLING RESISTANCE/SUSCEPTIBILITY LOCI ............................................................................................................................................. 45 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 46 Materials and Methods .............................................................................................................. 49 Biological Materials ...................................................................................................... 49 Phenotyping .................................................................................................................. 50 Genotyping .................................................................................................................... 50