Puccinia striiformis
f.sp.tritici(Pst) is the causal agent of stripe (yellow) rust on wheat. It seriously threatens wheat production worldwide. The obligate biotrophic fungus is highly capable of producing new virulent races that can overcome resistance. Studying the inheritance ofPstvirulence using the classical genetic approach was not possible until the recent discovery of its sexual stage on barberry plants. In the present study, 127 progeny isolates were obtained by selfing a representative Chinese Yellow Rust (CYR) race, CYR32, onBerberis aggregate. The parental isolate and progeny isolates were characterized by testing them on 25 wheat lines with differentYrgenes for resistance and 10 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The 127 progeny isolates were classified into 27 virulence phenotypes (VPs), and 65 multi-locus genotypes (MLGs). All progeny isolates and the parental isolate were avirulent toYr5, Yr8, Yr10, Yr15, Yr24, Yr26, Yr32, andYrTr1; but virulent toYr1, Yr2, Yr3, Yr4, Yr25, Yr44, andYr76. The VPs of the parental isolate to nineYrgenes (Yr6, Yr7, Yr9, Yr17, Yr27, Yr28, Yr43, YrA, andYrExp2) and the avirulence phenotype toYrSPwere found to be heterozygous. Based on the segregation of the virulence/avirulence phenotypes, we found that the VPs toYr7, Yr28, Yr43, andYrExp2were controlled by a dominant gene; those toYr6, Yr9, andYrA(Yr73, Yr74) by two dominant genes; those toYr17andYr27by one dominant and one recessive gene; and the avirulence phenotype toYrSPby two complementary dominant genes. Molecular mapping revealed the linkage of 10 virulence/avirulence genes. Comparison of the inheritance modes of the virulence/avirulence genes in this study with previous studies indicated complex interactions between virulence genes in the pathogen and resistance genes in wheat lines. The results are useful for understanding the plant-pathogen interactions and developing wheat cultivars with effective and durable resistance.