Fusarium Head Blight in Durum Wheat: Recent Status, Breeding Directions, and Future Research Prospects

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major fungal disease affecting wheat production worldwide. Since the early 1990s, FHB, caused primarily by Fusarium graminearum, has become one of the most significant diseases faced by wheat producers in Canada and the United States. The increasing FHB problem is likely due to the increased adoption of conservation tillage practices, expansion of maize production, use of susceptible wheat varieties in rotation, and climate variability. Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum sp. durum) is notorious for its extreme susceptibility to FHB and breeding for resistance is complicated because sources of FHB resistance are rare in the primary gene pool of tetraploid wheat. Losses due to this disease include yield, test weight, seed quality, food and feed quality, and when severe, market access. More importantly, it is the contamination with mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol, in Fusarium-infected durum kernels that causes the most serious economic as well as food and feed safety concerns. Several studies and thorough reviews have been published on germplasm development and breeding for FHB resistance and the genetics and genomics of FHB resistance in bread or common wheat (T. aestivum); however, similar reviews have not been conducted in durum wheat. Thus, the aim of this review is to summarize and discuss the recent research efforts to mitigate FHB in durum wheat, including quantitative trait locus mapping, genome-wide association studies, genomic prediction, mutagenesis and characterization of genes and pathways involved in FHB resistance. It also highlights future directions, FHB-resistant germplasm, and the potential role of morphological traits to enhance FHB resistance in durum wheat.

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Identification of novel QTL for resistance to Fusarium head blight in a tetraploid wheat population

Genome ◽

10.1139/gen-2012-0110 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 55 (12) ◽

pp. 853-864 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Yuefeng Ruan ◽

André Comeau ◽

François Langevin ◽

Pierre Hucl ◽

John M. Clarke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Graminearum ◽

Triticum Turgidum ◽

Tetraploid Wheat ◽

Field Trials ◽

Gibberella Zeae ◽

Head Blight ◽

Wheat Population ◽

Fhb Resistance

Most tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L var. durum) cultivars are susceptible to Fusarium head blight (FHB). This study reports novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with FHB resistance. A backcross recombinant inbred line (BCRIL) population was developed from the cross BGRC3487/2*DT735, and 160 lines were evaluated for resistance to Fusarium graminearum Schwabe (teleomorph Gibberella zeae (Schwein. Petch) in field trials over 3 years (2008–2010) and to a F. graminearum 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON) chemotype in greenhouse trials. The population was genotyped with 948 polymorphic loci using DArT and microsatellite markers. Eleven QTL were associated with FHB resistance under field conditions on chromosomes 2A, 3B, 5A, 5B, 7A, and 7B. Two of these, QFhb.usw-3B from BGRC3487 and QFhb.usw-7A2, were consistently detected over environments. The QFhb.usw-3B QTL was in a similar position to a resistance QTL in hexaploid wheat. The combination of the two QTL reduced field index by 53.5%–86.2%. Two QTL for resistance to the 3-ADON chemotype were detected on chromosomes 1B and 4B. Both BGRC3487 and DT735 could provide new sources of FHB resistance and the combination of QTL reported here could be valuable tools in breeding FHB-resistant durum wheat.

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A Unified Effort to Fight an Enemy of Wheat and Barley: Fusarium Head Blight

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-03-12-0291-fe ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 96 (12) ◽

pp. 1712-1728 ◽

Cited By ~ 321

Author(s):

Marcia McMullen ◽

Gary Bergstrom ◽

Erick De Wolf ◽

Ruth Dill-Macky ◽

Don Hershman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Great Plains ◽

Plant Disease ◽

Management Strategies ◽

The United States ◽

Export Market ◽

Northern Great Plains ◽

Head Blight ◽

Food And Feed

Wheat and barley are critical food and feed crops around the world. Wheat is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop. In the United States, production of wheat and barley contributes to domestic food and feed use, and contributes to the export market and balance of trade. Fifteen years ago, Plant Disease published a feature article titled “Scab of wheat and barley: A re-emerging disease of devastating impact”. That article described the series of severe Fusarium head blight (FHB) epidemics that occurred in the United States and Canada, primarily from 1991 through 1996, with emphasis on the unparalleled economic and sociological impacts caused by the 1993 FHB epidemic in spring grains in the Northern Great Plains region. Earlier publications had dealt with the scope and damage caused by this disease in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. Reviews published after 1997 further described this disease and its impact on North American grain production in the 1990s. This article reviews the disease and documents the information on U.S. FHB epidemics since 1997. The primary goal of this article is to summarize a sustained, coordinated, and collaborative research program that was put in place shortly after the 1993 epidemic, a program intended to quickly lead to improved management strategies and outreach implementation. This program serves as a model to deal with other emerging plant disease threats.

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Genome-wide association studies for Fusarium head blight resistance and it’s trade-off with grain yield in soft red winter wheat

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-06-20-1361-re ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rupesh Gaire ◽

Gina Brown-Guedira ◽

Yanhong Dong ◽

Herbert Ohm ◽

Mohsen Mohammadi

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Association Studies ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Head Blight ◽

Trade Off ◽

Soft Red Winter Wheat ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Red Winter Wheat

Identification of quantitative trait loci for Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance from different sources and pyramiding them into cultivars could provide effective protection against FHB. The objective of this study was to characterize a soft red winter wheat (SRWW) breeding population that has been subjected to intense germplasm introduction and alien introgression for FHB resistance in the past. The population was evaluated under misted FHB nurseries inoculated with Fusarium graminearum infested corn spawn for two years. Phenotypic data included disease incidence (INC), disease severity (SEV), Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK), FHB index (FHBdx), and deoxynivalenol concentration (DON). Genome-wide association studies by using 13,784 SNP markers identified twenty-five genomic regions at -logP ≥ 4.0 that were associated with five FHB-related traits. Of these 25, the marker trait associations that explained more than 5% phenotypic variation were localized on chromosomes 1A, 2B, 3B, 5A, 7A, 7B, and 7D, and from diverse sources including adapted SRWW lines such as Truman and Bess, and unadapted common wheat lines such as Ning7840 and Fundulea 201R. Furthermore, individuals with favorable alleles at the four loci Fhb1, Qfhb.nc-2B.1 (Q2B.1), Q7D.1, and Q7D.2 showed better FDK and DON scores (but not INC, SEV, and FHBdx) compared to other allelic combinations. Our data also showed while pyramiding multiple loci provides protection against FHB disease, it has significant trade-off with grain yield.

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Mapping of FHB resistance QTLs in tetraploid wheat

Genome ◽

10.1139/g06-127 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 49 (12) ◽

pp. 1586-1593 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Daryl J. Somers ◽

George Fedak ◽

John Clarke ◽

Wenguang Cao

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Resistance Gene ◽

Triticum Turgidum ◽

Tetraploid Wheat ◽

Epistatic Effect ◽

Resistance Allele ◽

Head Blight ◽

Resistance Qtls ◽

Resistance Qtl ◽

Fhb Resistance

Triticum turgidum L var. durum is known to be particularly susceptible to infection by Fusarium graminearum, the causal agent for Fusarium head blight (FHB), which results in severe yield losses and grain contaminated with mycotoxins. This research was aimed at identifying FHB resistance in tetraploid wheat and mapping the location of FHB resistance genes. A tetraploid cross of durum wheat (‘Strongfield’) × Triticum carthlicum (‘Blackbird’) was used to generate a doubled-haploid (DH) population. This population was evaluated for type II resistance to F. graminearum in replicated greenhouse trials, in which heads were innoculated and the percent of infected spikelets was determined 21 days later. The population was also genotyped with microsatellite markers to construct a map of 424 loci, covering 2 052 cM. The FHB reaction and genotypic data were used to identify FHB resistance quantitative trait loci (QTLs). It was determined that 2 intervals on chromosomes 2BL and 6BS controlled FHB resistance in this tetraploid cross. The FHB resistance allele on chromosome 2BL (r2 = 0.26, logarithm of odds (LOD) = 8.5) was derived from ‘Strongfield’, and the FHB resistance allele on chromosome 6BS (r2 = 0.23, LOD = 6.6) was derived from ‘Blackbird’. Two other loci, on chromosomes 5AS and 2AL, were shown to regulate FHB infection and to have an epistatic effect on the FHB resistance QTL on chromosome 6BS. Further, the FHB resistance QTL peak on chromosome 6BS was clearly coincident with the known FHB resistance gene Fhb2, derived from Sumai 3. The results show that FHB resistance can be expressed in durum wheat, and that T. carthlicum and Triticum aestivum likely share a common FHB resistance gene on chromosome 6BS.

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Agronomic evaluation of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) resistance in Italian durum wheat cultivars and screening of advanced lines MAS selected for FHB resistance

Plant varieties studying and protection ◽

10.21498/2518-1017.3(32).2016.75978 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 0 (3(32)) ◽

pp. 30-41

Author(s):

Г. Бентівенга ◽

М. Камеріні ◽

А. Белoччі ◽

М. Форнара ◽

С. Меллоні ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight ◽

Agronomic Evaluation ◽

Fhb Resistance

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Characterization of the Genetic Architecture for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Durum Wheat: The Complex Association of Resistance, Flowering Time, and Height Genes

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2020.592064 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Yuefeng Ruan ◽

Wentao Zhang ◽

Ron E. Knox ◽

Samia Berraies ◽

Heather L. Campbell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Plant Height ◽

Genetic Resistance ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Resistance Breeding ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance

Durum wheat is an economically important crop for Canadian farmers. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most destructive diseases that threatens durum production in Canada. FHB reduces yield and end-use quality and most commonly contaminates the grain with the fungal mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, also known as DON. Serious outbreaks of FHB can occur in durum wheat in Canada, and combining genetic resistance with fungicide application is a cost effective approach to control this disease. However, there is limited variation for genetic resistance to FHB in elite Canadian durum cultivars. To explore and identify useful genetic FHB resistance variation for the improvement of Canadian durum wheat, we assembled an association mapping (AM) panel of diverse durum germplasms and performed genome wide association analysis (GWAS). Thirty-one quantitative trait loci (QTL) across all 14 chromosomes were significantly associated with FHB resistance. On 3BS, a stable QTL with a larger effect for resistance was located close to the centromere of 3BS. Three haplotypes of Fhb1 QTL were identified, with an emmer wheat haplotype contributing to disease susceptibility. The large number of QTL identified here can provide a rich resource to improve FHB resistance in commercially grown durum wheat. Among the 31 QTL most were associated with plant height and/or flower time. QTL 1A.1, 1A.2, 3B.2, 5A.1, 6A.1, 7A.3 were associated with FHB resistance and not associated or only weakly associated with flowering time nor plant height. These QTL have features that would make them good targets for FHB resistance breeding.

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Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping of Increased Fusarium Head Blight Susceptibility Associated with a Wild Emmer Wheat Chromosome

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-99-4-0447 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 99 (4) ◽

pp. 447-452 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

David F. Garvin ◽

Robert W. Stack ◽

Jana M. Hansen

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Trait Locus ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Quantitative Trait ◽

Tetraploid Wheat ◽

Wild Emmer Wheat ◽

Emmer Wheat ◽

Wild Emmer ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Trait Locus

Chromosome 2A of wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum var. dicoccoides) genotype Israel A increases Fusarium head blight (FHB) severity when present in durum wheat (T. turgidum var. durum) cv. Langdon (LDN). The goal of this study was to identify regions of Israel A chromosome 2A associated with this difference in resistance. A recombinant inbred chromosome line population (RICL) from a cross between LDN and the LDN-Israel A chromosome 2A substitution line [LDN(DIC-2A)] was employed for analysis. Three greenhouse FHB evaluations were completed on the RICL to obtain phenotypic data on variation for FHB resistance, and a simple sequence repeat (SSR)-based molecular map of chromosome 2A was developed. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping identified a region on the long arm of chromosome 2A that was associated with FHB resistance in each independent FHB evaluation. Depending on the evaluation, the single best SSR marker in this region accounted for between 21 and 26% of the variation for FHB resistance, with the Israel A marker alleles associated with increased FHB susceptibility. The single best markers from each evaluation reside within an interval of approximately 22 cM. This study identifies one or more new QTL on chromosome 2A in tetraploid wheat that can contribute to significant variation in FHB resistance.

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Identification of a Novel Fusarium Head Blight Resistance Quantitative Trait Locus on Chromosome 7A in Tetraploid Wheat

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-97-5-0592 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 97 (5) ◽

pp. 592-597 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

S. Kumar ◽

R. W. Stack ◽

T. L. Friesen ◽

J. D. Faris

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Trait Locus ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Quantitative Trait ◽

Recombinant Inbred Lines ◽

Tetraploid Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Resistance Quantitative Trait Locus ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Trait Locus

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum is one of the most destructive diseases of durum (Triticum turgidum sp. durum) and common wheat (T. aestivum). Promising sources of FHB resistance have been identified among common (hexaploid) wheats, but the same is not true for durum (tetraploid) wheats. A previous study indicated that chromosome 7A from T. turgidum sp. dicoccoides accession PI478742 contributed significant levels of resistance to FHB. The objectives of this research were to develop a genetic linkage map of chromosome 7A in a population of 118 recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between the durum cv. Langdon (LDN) and a disomic LDN-T. turgidum sp. dicoccoides PI478742 chromosome 7A substitution line [LDN-DIC 7A(742)], and identify a putative FHB resistance quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 7A derived from LDN-DIC 7A(742). The population was evaluated for type II FHB resistance in three greenhouse environments. Interval regression analysis indicated that a single QTL designated Qfhs.fcu-7AL explained 19% of the phenotypic variation and spanned an interval of 39.6 cM. Comparisons between the genetic map and a previously constructed physical map of chromosome 7A indicated that Qfhs.fcu-7AL is located in the proximal region of the long arm. This is only the second FHB QTL to be identified in a tetraploid source, and it may be useful to combine it with the QTL Qfhs.ndsu-3AS in order to develop durum wheat germ plasm and cultivars with higher levels of FHB resistance.

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