Genetically Engineered Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat by Expression of Arabidopsis NPR1

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat and barley which causes extensive losses worldwide. Monogenic, gene-for-gene resistance to FHB has not been reported. The best source of resistance to FHB is a complex, quantitative trait derived from the wheat cv. Sumai 3. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis thaliana NPR1 gene (AtNPR1), which regulates the activation of systemic acquired resistance, when expressed in the FHB-susceptible wheat cv. Bobwhite, confers a heritable, type II resistance to FHB caused by Fusarium graminearum. The heightened FHB resistance in the transgenic AtNPR1-expressing wheat is associated with the faster activation of defense response when challenged by the fungus. PR1 expression is induced rapidly to a high level in the fungus-challenged spikes of the AtNPR1-expressing wheat. Furthermore, benzothiadiazole, a functional analog of salicylic acid, induced PR1 expression faster and to a higher level in the AtNPR1-expressing wheat than in the nontransgenic plants. We suggest that FHB resistance in the AtNPR1-expressing wheat is a result of these plants being more responsive to an endogenous activator of plant defense. Our results demonstrate that NPR1 is an effective candidate for controlling FHB.

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Alien chromatin but not Fhb7 confers Fusarium head blight resistance in wheat breeding

10.1101/2021.02.03.429547 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xianrui Guo ◽

Qinghua Shi ◽

Jing Yuan ◽

Mian Wang ◽

Jing Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Resistance Breeding ◽

Wheat Breeding ◽

Glutathione S Transferase ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Translocation Lines ◽

High Level ◽

Thinopyrum Elongatum

AbstractFusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium species, seriously threaten global wheat production. Three wheat-Th.elongatum FHB resistant translocation lines have been developed and used for breeding. Transcriptomic analysis identified a derivative glutathione S-transferase transcript T26102, which was homologous to Fhb7 and induced dramatically by Fusarium graminearum. Homologs of Fhb7 were detected in several genera in Triticeae, including Thinopyrum, Elymus, Leymus, Pseudoroegeria and Roegeria. Several wheat-Thinopyrum translocation lines carrying Fhb7 remain susceptible to FHB, and transgenic plants overexpressing the T26102 on different backgrounds did not improve the FHB resistance. Taken as a whole, we show the application of the chromatin derived from diploid Thinopyrum elongatum successfully conferring wheat with high level FHB resistance independent of the Fhb7.One Sentence SummaryThinopyrum elongatum chromatin from 7EL was successfully applied to wheat FHB resistance breeding, but the resistant gene other than the reported Fhb7 remained unknown.

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Validation of Molecular Markers for Use With Adapted Sources of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Wheat

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-10-16-1421-re ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 101 (7) ◽

pp. 1292-1299 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

F. E. Bokore ◽

R. E. Knox ◽

R. M. DePauw ◽

F. Clarke ◽

R. D. Cuthbert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Phenotypic Selection ◽

T Test ◽

Head Blight ◽

Breeding Populations ◽

Molecular Variants ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Selection For ◽

Sumai 3

Genetic control of resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) is quantitative, making phenotypic selection difficult. Genetic markers to resistance are helpful to select favorable genotypes. This study was conducted to determine if Fhb1 and Fhb5 present in the Sumai 3 source of FHB resistance occur in Sumai 3-derived North American spring wheat cultivars and to understand the appropriateness of using markers to select for the favorable alleles at these loci in breeding. Sumai 3-derived parents Alsen, ND3085, ND744, Carberry, and Glenn were used in crosses to generate 14 doubled haploid breeding populations. The parents and progeny were genotyped with five Fhb1 and three Fhb5 microsatellite markers. Progeny were selected based on performance relative to parents and other control cultivars in FHB nurseries near Portage la Prairie and Carman, MB. χ2 and t test analyses were performed on marker and FHB data. The χ2 test frequently determined the proportion of lines carrying molecular variants associated with FHB resistance increased following nursery selection for FHB. Similarly, the t test regularly demonstrated that selection for FHB resistance lowered the mean level of disease associated with resistant marker haplotypes. The study affirmed FHB resistance sources Alsen, Carberry, ND3085, and ND744 have Fhb1 and Fhb5 loci like Sumai 3, but no evidence was found that Glenn carries Fhb1 and Fhb5 resistance alleles. The results justified use of Fhb1 and Fhb5 markers for marker assisted selection in populations derived from Alsen, Carberry, ND3085, and ND744, but not Glenn. Combined or individual application of Xgwm493 and Xgwm533 in selection of genotypes carrying Fhb1, and Xgwm150, Xgwm304, and Xgwm595 for Fhb5 will enhance FHB resistance in wheat.

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Cereal resistance to Fusarium head blight and possibilities of its improvement through breeding

Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding ◽

10.17221/63/2009-cjgpb ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 45 (No. 3) ◽

pp. 87-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

K. Kosová ◽

J. Chrpová ◽

V. Šíp

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Large Scale ◽

Phenotypic Selection ◽

Resistance Mechanisms ◽

Head Blight ◽

Cereal Breeding ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

The Individual ◽

Different Response ◽

High Level

The aim of this review is to summarize recent information on Fusarium head blight (FHB) in small grain cereals, especially in wheat and barley. Basic information on FHB epidemiology, types of resistance and plant resistance mechanisms is included. Standard methods for the evaluation of the individual types of FHB resistance and the extent of infection are briefly described. Special attention is paid to the sources of FHB resistance of different origin and possibility of their exploitation in cereal breeding. Unfortunately, a high level of FHB resistance was detected in non-adapted germplasm or distant relatives, which is a serious impediment to breeding progress in this field. The present state of breeding for FHB resistance in wheat, barley, rye, triticale and oats was analyzed. It was shown that large-scale QTL detections provide new opportunities for increasing the resistance; however, multi-step phenotypic selection still remains to be the most effective tool. Pedigree analyses indicated that the latest progress reached in this field was obtained through the cumulation of resistance genes coming from heterogeneous sources with different response to FHB.

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Effectiveness of multigenerational transfer of Sumai 3 Fusarium head blight resistance in hard red spring wheat breeding populations

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2019-0066 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 100 (2) ◽

pp. 156-174

Author(s):

S. Berraies ◽

R.E. Knox ◽

R.M. DePauw ◽

F.R. Clarke ◽

A.R. Martin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Wheat Breeding ◽

Type I ◽

Head Blight ◽

Hard Red Spring Wheat ◽

Breeding Populations ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Selection For ◽

Sumai 3

Several quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been identified for Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in the cultivar Sumai 3. Wheat breeders need to know which Sumai 3 loci are present in derived lines used as parents for effective marker-assisted selection for genetic improvement. This study was conducted to identify the loci in Sumai 3 derived parents that contribute FHB resistance in breeding populations. Three doubled haploid (DH) populations utilizing Sumai 3 derived parents, ND3085, ND744, and Alsen, were evaluated during 2007 and 2008 in FHB nurseries near Carman, MB, Ottawa, ON and Charlottetown, PE. The percentage of incidence, severity, Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK), and deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation were measured, and FHB index calculated. DNA markers at six FHB resistance loci detected in Sumai 3 were evaluated on the populations. For each trait, a t test was applied to means of observations pooled by parental type of each marker to determine which loci contributed to resistance. The alleles at 3BS and 5AS most frequently contributed to Type I and Type II FHB resistance, as well as to reduced FDK and DON in all three populations. Markers revealed resistance on 3BS and 5AS in Alsen, ND3085, and ND744, on 3BSc, 4D, and 6BS in ND744, on 4D in ND3085, and on 6BS in Alsen. In some environments, the susceptible parent Infinity contributed minor QTL on 2D, 3BSc, and 6BS. Likewise, Helios contributed minor QTL on 5AS and 6BS.

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Molecular Mapping of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in the Spring Wheat Line ND2710

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-12-17-0392-r ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 108 (8) ◽

pp. 972-979 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Mingxia Zhao ◽

Guomei Wang ◽

Yueqiang Leng ◽

Humphrey Wanjugi ◽

Pinggen Xi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spring Wheat ◽

Wheat Cultivar ◽

Snp Markers ◽

Wheat Line ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

High Level ◽

Spring Wheat Cultivar ◽

Major Qtl ◽

Sumai 3

ND2710 is a hard red spring wheat line with a very high level of resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB). It was selected from the progeny of a cross between ND2603 (an advanced breeding line derived from the Sumai 3/Wheaton cross) and Grandin (a spring wheat cultivar). The FHB resistance of ND2710 is presumably derived from Sumai 3 because the other parents (Grandin and Wheaton) are very susceptible to FHB. To identify and map the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for FHB resistance in ND2710, we developed a mapping population consisting of 233 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the cross between ND2710 and the spring wheat cultivar Bobwhite. These RILs along with their parents and checks were evaluated for reactions to FHB in three greenhouse experiments and one field experiment during 2013 to 2014. The population was also genotyped with the wheat 90K iSelect single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay, and a genetic linkage map was developed with 1,373 non-cosegregating SNP markers, which were distributed on all 21 wheat chromosomes spanning 914.98 centimorgans of genetic distance. Genetic analyses using both phenotypic and genotypic data identified one major QTL (Qfhb.ndwp-3B) on the short arm of chromosome 3B, and three minor QTL (Qfhb.ndwp-6B, Qfhb.ndwp-2A, and Qfhb.ndwp-6A) on 6B, 2A, and 6A, respectively. The major QTL on 3B was detected in all experiments and explained 5 to 20% of the phenotypic variation, while the three minor QTL on 6B, 2A, and 6A explained 5 to 12% phenotypic variation in at least two experiments, except for Qfhb.ndwp-2A, which was only detected in the field experiment. Qfhb.ndwp-3B and Qfhb.ndwp-6B were mapped to the genomic regions containing Fhb1 and Fhb2, respectively, confirming that they originated from Sumai 3. The additive effect of the major and minor QTL may contribute to the high level of FHB resistance in ND2710. The SNP markers closely linked to the FHB resistance QTL will be useful for marker-assisted selection of FHB resistance in wheat breeding programs.

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Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Spring Wheat Lines Developed in the Pacific Northwest and CIMMYT

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-02-17-0073-r ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 107 (12) ◽

pp. 1486-1495 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Rui Wang ◽

Jianli Chen ◽

James A. Anderson ◽

Junli Zhang ◽

Weidong Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Pacific Northwest ◽

Spring Wheat ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Head Blight ◽

Genome Wide ◽

The Pacific ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Wheat Lines ◽

Sumai 3

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a destructive disease of wheat in humid and semihumid areas of the world. It has emerged in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) in recent years because of changing climate and crop rotation practices. Our objectives in the present study were to identify and characterize quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with FHB resistance in spring wheat lines developed in the PNW and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. In total, 170 spring wheat lines were evaluated in field and greenhouse trials in 2015 and 2016. Fourteen lines showing consistent resistance in multiple environments were identified. These lines are valuable resources in wheat variety improvement of FHB resistance because they have no Sumai 3 or Sumai 3-related background. The 170 lines were genotyped using a high-density Illumina 90K single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) assay and 10 other non-SNP markers. A genome-wide association analysis was conducted with a mixed model (Q+K). Consistent, significant SNP associations with multiple traits were found on chromosomes 1B, 2B, 4B, 5A, 5B, and 6A. The locus on chromosome 5B for reduced deoxynivalenol content may be novel. The identified QTL are being validated in additional mapping studies and the identified resistant lines are being used in variety development for FHB resistance and facilitated by marker-assisted selection.

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A different path to the summit of Fusarium Head Blight resistance in wheat: developing germplasm with a systemic approach

Plant Breeding and Seed Science ◽

10.2478/v10129-011-0014-1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 39-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. Comeau ◽

F. Langevin ◽

V. Caetano ◽

S. Haber ◽

M. Savard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus ◽

Full Range ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Systemic Approach ◽

Raw Material ◽

Blight Resistance ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Sumai 3

A different path to the summit of Fusarium Head Blight resistance in wheat: developing germplasm with a systemic approach In pursuing FHB resistance in wheat, 30 years of conventional breeding efforts in Eastern Canada have brought some progress. Substantial investment and the application in recent years of marker-assisted selection have to date, however, failed to produce agronomic lines that resist FHB as well as Sumai 3. We present here an alternative path, described as the systemic approach. Rather than seeking to introgress specific putative resistance genes, it subjects target germplasm to regimes of repeated cycles of multiple, interacting (biotic and abiotic) stresses in which desirable traits - not always adequately expressed in parental lines - are identified and selected. How can such a seemingly counterintuitive process work? The systemic approach views desired resistance as arising from the interactions of complex regulation mechanisms mediating how a host responds when a pathogen attacks. These constituents of resistance should thus not always be understood simply as discrete Mendelian units. In repeated rounds of selection, the systemic approach captures those rare individuals that embody optimal interactions of traits, and advances them as founders of lines that resist FHB more effectively than if selection focused on FHB alone. In Quebec, we have chosen to select wheat populations under combined pressure from barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infection and FHB. Resistance to FHB and tolerance of BYDV are quantitative traits that interact. BYD increases both the direct losses from FHB and the production of mycotoxins. Selection under virus pressure, therefore, helps identify those individuals which express FHB resistance more effectively. Moreover, the correlates of virus tolerance (physiological efficiency, generalized stress tolerance and yield) point to those plants with better root traits, ability to produce biomass and yield stability. Together with numerous secondary criteria, such selection eliminates all but a few ‘winners’ in each round. Seen from a systemic perspective, the difficulty of identifying good progeny among descendants of crosses with Sumai 3 does not surprise. Deleterious linkages, pleiotropy and epistasis will usually combine in far from optimal expressions of the assembled genetic information. The systemic approach, by contrast, identifies in repeated cycles increasingly optimized expressions of genes, allowing all potential sources of resistance to be explored. Thus resistant lines can readily be derived from the crosses of susceptible parents, an objective rarely sought in conventional, focused approaches. Moreover, wheat plants respond to the systemic approach's powerful stresses with enhanced epigenetic variation, raw material from which broader ranges of heritable traits can be selected. Germplasm that expresses a full range of attractive traits while resisting FHB as effectively as Sumai 3 can now be shown to be much more abundant than previously imagined. Perhaps this promise will entice more wheat workers to try a systemic approach.

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The effect of 3BS locus of Sumai 3 on Fusarium head blight resistance in Australian wheats

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea05250 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 47 (5) ◽

pp. 603 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

G. Q. Xie ◽

M. C. Zhang ◽

S. Chakraborty ◽

C. J. Liu

Keyword(s):

Molecular Markers ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Wheat Breeding ◽

Head Blight ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Backcross Populations ◽

Australian Wheat ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Sumai 3

The 3BS allele of Sumai 3 has been the main source of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance worldwide. Using molecular markers and FHB resistance screenings, we have analysed the effects of this allele in two backcross and two 4-way F2 populations derived from elite Australian cultivars. Compared to individuals without the Sumai 3 allele, individuals with the allele showed an average 32.0% reduction in FHB severity as measured by number of diseased spikelets. This value was slightly reduced to 29.2% when the total number of spikelets was taken into account by expressing severity as the proportion of diseased spikelets. When compared to the parental cultivars, progeny with the 3BS allele of Sumai 3 offered, on average, 43.3% reduction in FHB severity. Significant differences were not detected between progeny that were homozygous or heterozygous for the 3BS locus, indicating a dominant inheritance of this locus. These results confirm that the 3BS allele controls a large component of the FHB resistance in Sumai 3, which can be readily incorporated and detected in backcross populations using molecular markers. The materials derived from this study could offer significant benefits to the Australian wheat breeding programs.

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Type II Fusarium head blight susceptibility factor identified in wheat

10.1101/2020.02.06.937425 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

B. Hales ◽

A. Steed ◽

V. Giovannelli ◽

C. Burt ◽

M. Lemmens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Chinese Spring ◽

Wheat Chromosome ◽

Addition Line ◽

Type Ii ◽

Head Blight ◽

Wheat Varieties ◽

Susceptibility Factor ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Grain Yield And Quality

AbstractFusarium head blight (FHB) causes significant grain yield and quality reductions in wheat and barley. Most wheat varieties are incapable of preventing FHB spread through the rachis, but disease is typically limited to individually infected spikelets in barley. We point inoculated wheat lines possessing barley chromosome introgressions to test whether FHB resistance could be observed in a wheat genetic background. The most striking differential was between 4H(4D) substitution and 4H addition lines. The 4H addition line was similarly susceptible to the wheat parent, but the 4H(4D) substitution line was highly resistant, which suggests that there is an FHB susceptibility factor on wheat chromosome 4D. Point inoculation of Chinese Spring 4D ditelosomic lines demonstrated that removing 4DS results in high FHB resistance. We genotyped four Chinese Spring 4DS terminal deletion lines to better characterise the deletions in each line. FHB phenotyping indicated that lines del4DS-2 and del4DS-4, containing smaller deletions, were susceptible and had retained the susceptibility factor. Lines del4DS-3 and del4DS-1 contain larger deletions and were both significantly more resistant, and hence had presumably lost the susceptibility factor. Combining the genotyping and phenotyping results allowed us to refine the susceptibility factor to a 31.7 Mbp interval on 4DS.HighlightWe have identified a Type II Fusarium head blight susceptibility factor on the short arm of wheat chromosome 4D and refined its position to a 31.7 Mbp interval.

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Identification of Functional Genic Components of Major Fusarium Head Blight Resistance Quantitative Trait Loci in Wheat Cultivar Sumai 3

Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions ◽

10.1094/mpmi-10-12-0235-r ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 442-450 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Yongbin Zhuang ◽

Aravind Gala ◽

Yang Yen

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Trait Loci ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Quantitative Trait ◽

Defense Mechanism ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Head Blight ◽

Bulk Analysis ◽

Trait Loci ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Sumai 3

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease worldwide, affecting wheat and other small grains. To identify key wheat genes involved in FHB pathogenesis, 406 FHB-related wheat expressed sequence tags functionally identified in Sumai 3 were investigated for their association with FHB-resistance quantitative trait loci (QTL) Fhb1 and Fhb_6BL in 2010 and 2011. A total of 47 candidate genes were identified by bulk analysis, near-isogenic screening and expression QTL mapping, and were finally mapped to their carrier chromosomes with Chinese Spring nulli-tetra deficiency lines. One gene, designated WFhb1_c1 (wheat Fhb1 candidate gene 1), was both functionally associated with and physically located within Fhb1 and was found to be weakly similar (E = 5e+0) to an Arabidopsis gene encoding pectin methyl esterase inhibitor. Two other genes, designated WFI_6BL1 and WFI_6BL2 (wheat-Fusarium interaction genes 6BL1 and 6BL2), were functionally associated with Fhb_6BL but physically mapped on chromosomes 7D and 5A, respectively. WFI_6BL1 was annotated as a 13- lipoxygenase gene and WFI_6BL2 might encode a PR-4-like protein. Our data suggested that i) Fhb1 seems to contribute to FHB resistance by reducing susceptibility in the first 60 h, ii) Fhb_6BL makes its contribution via the jasmonate-mediated pathways, and iii) wheat seems to activate its defense mechanism in the biotrophic phase of FHB pathogenesis.

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