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

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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Inheritances of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in a Cross Involving Local and Exotic Durum Wheat Cultivars

Crop Science ◽

10.2135/cropsci2011.03.0140 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 51 (6) ◽

pp. 2517-2524 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

M. M. Fakhfakh ◽

A. Yahyaoui ◽

S. Rezgui ◽

E. M. Elias ◽

A. Daaloul

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Blight Resistance ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight

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A valuable QTL for Fusarium head blight resistance from Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccoides has a stable expression in durum wheat cultivars

Cereal Research Communications ◽

10.1556/0806.45.2017.007 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 234-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. Soresi ◽

D. Zappacosta ◽

A. Garayalde ◽

I. Irigoyen ◽

J. Basualdo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Triticum Turgidum ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Stable Expression ◽

Blight Resistance ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight

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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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Effects of Durum Wheat Cultivars with Different Degrees of FHB Susceptibility Grown Under Different Meteorological Conditions on the Contamination of Regulated, Modified and Emerging Mycotoxins

10.20944/preprints202101.0610.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Valentina Scarpino ◽

Massimo Blandino

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Meteorological Conditions ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight ◽

North West ◽

Modified Mycotoxins ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Condi Tions ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Resistant Genotypes

The enhancement of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance is one of the best options to reduce mycotoxin contamination in wheat. This study has aimed to verify that the genotypes with high tolerance to deoxynivalenol could guarantee an overall minimization of the sanitary risk, by evaluating the contamination of regulated, modified and emerging mycotoxins on durum wheat cvs with different degrees of FHB susceptibility, grown under different meteorological condi-tions, in 8 growing seasons in North-West Italy. The years which were characterized by frequent and heavy rainfall in spring, were also those with the highest contamination of deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, moniliformin and enniatins. The most FHB resistant genotypes resulted in the lowest contamination of all the mycotoxins but showed the highest deoxyniva-lenol-3-glucoside/deoxynivalenol ratio and moniliformin/deoxynivalenol ratio. An inverse re-lationship between the amount of deoxynivalenol and the deoxyniva-lenol-3-glucoside/deoxynivalenol ratio was recorded for all the cvs and all the years. Converse-ly, the enniatins/deoxynivalenol ratio had a less intense relationship with cv tolerance to FHB. In conclusion, even though the more tolerant cvs, showed higher relative relationships between modified/emerging mycotoxins and native/target mycotoxins than the susceptible ones, they showed lower absolute levels of contamination of both emerging and modified mycotoxins.

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Fusarium head blight resistance exacerbates nutritional loss of wheat grain at elevated CO2

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-03890-9 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

William T. Hay ◽

James A. Anderson ◽

Susan P. McCormick ◽

Milagros P. Hojilla-Evangelista ◽

Gordon W. Selling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Fusarium Head Blight Resistance ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Magnesium Content ◽

Pathogen Resistance ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fhb Resistance

AbstractThe nutritional integrity of wheat is jeopardized by rapidly rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and the associated emergence and enhanced virulence of plant pathogens. To evaluate how disease resistance traits may impact wheat climate resilience, 15 wheat cultivars with varying levels of resistance to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) were grown at ambient and elevated CO2. Although all wheat cultivars had increased yield when grown at elevated CO2, the nutritional contents of FHB moderately resistant (MR) cultivars were impacted more than susceptible cultivars. At elevated CO2, the MR cultivars had more significant differences in plant growth, grain protein, starch, fructan, and macro and micro-nutrient content compared with susceptible wheat. Furthermore, changes in protein, starch, phosphorus, and magnesium content were correlated with the cultivar FHB resistance rating, with more FHB resistant cultivars having greater changes in nutrient content. This is the first report of a correlation between the degree of plant pathogen resistance and grain nutritional content loss in response to elevated CO2. Our results demonstrate the importance of identifying wheat cultivars that can maintain nutritional integrity and FHB resistance in future atmospheric CO2 conditions.

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Fusarium head blight incidence and mycotoxin accumulation in three durum wheat cultivars in relation to sowing date and density

The Science of Nature ◽

10.1007/s00114-017-1528-7 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 105 (1-2) ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Anna Gorczyca ◽

Andrzej Oleksy ◽

Dorota Gala-Czekaj ◽

Monika Urbaniak ◽

Magdalena Laskowska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Sowing Date ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight

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Multiple methods for varietal resistance assessment of durum wheat cultivars against Fusarium culmorum the causal agent of Fusarium Head Blight and Crown Rot in Algeria

Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology ◽

10.1016/j.pmpp.2021.101683 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101683

Author(s):

Hamza BOUANAKA ◽

Ines BELLIL ◽

Douadi KHELIFI

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Fusarium Culmorum ◽

Causal Agent ◽

Crown Rot ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Varietal Resistance ◽

Head Blight ◽

Multiple Methods ◽

Resistance Assessment

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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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Effects of Durum Wheat Cultivars with Different Degrees of FHB Susceptibility Grown under Different Meteorological Conditions on the Contamination of Regulated, Modified and Emerging Mycotoxins

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9020408 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 408

Author(s):

Valentina Scarpino ◽

Massimo Blandino

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Inverse Relationship ◽

Meteorological Conditions ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight ◽

North West ◽

Modified Mycotoxins ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Fhb Resistance ◽

Resistant Genotypes

The enhancement of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance is one of the best options to reduce mycotoxin contamination in wheat. This study has aimed to verify that the genotypes with high tolerance to deoxynivalenol could guarantee an overall minimization of the sanitary risk, by evaluating the contamination of regulated, modified and emerging mycotoxins on durum wheat cvs with different degrees of FHB susceptibility, grown under different meteorological conditions, in 8 growing seasons in North-West Italy. The years which were characterized by frequent and heavy rainfall in spring were also those with the highest contamination of deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, moniliformin, and enniatins. The most FHB resistant genotypes resulted in the lowest contamination of all the mycotoxins but showed the highest deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside/deoxynivalenol ratio and moniliformin/deoxynivalenol ratio. An inverse relationship between the amount of deoxynivalenol and the deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside/deoxynivalenol ratio was recorded for all the cvs and all the years. Conversely, the enniatins/deoxynivalenol ratio had a less intense relationship with cv tolerance to FHB. In conclusion, even though the more tolerant cvs, showed higher relative relationships between modified/emerging mycotoxins and native/target mycotoxins than the susceptible ones, they showed lower absolute levels of contamination of both emerging and modified mycotoxins.

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