Untargeted Metabolomic Investigation of Wheat Infected with Stinking Smut Tilletia caries

Tilletia caries infection of wheat (Triticum aestivum) has become an increasing problem in organic wheat agriculture throughout the world. Little is known about how this pathogen alters host metabolism to ensure a successful infection. We investigated how T. caries allocates resources from wheat for its growth over the life cycle of the pathogen. An untargeted metabolomics approach that combined gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry and ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry platforms was used to determine which primary or specialized metabolite pathways are targeted and altered during T. caries infection. We found that T. caries does not dramatically alter the global metabolome of wheat but instead alters key metabolites for its own nutrient uptake and to antagonize host defenses by reducing wheat’s sweet immunity response and other related pathways. Our results highlight metabolic characteristics needed for selecting wheat varieties that are resistant to T. caries infection for organic agriculture. In addition, several wheat metabolites were identified that could be used in developing a diagnostic tool for early detection of T. caries infection.

AAC Hodge Canada Western Red Spring wheat

AAC Hodge (BW1069) is a hollow-stemmed, awned and high yielding Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat cultivar suited to the growing conditions in Western Canada. AAC Hodge was 6% higher yielding than AAC Viewfield, the highest yielding check in the Central Bread Wheat Cooperative (CBWC) registration trials (2017-2019). Within the same test, AAC Hodge was 16% higher yielding than Carberry. AAC Hodge matured 1 d earlier than Carberry and 2 d later than Unity; Unity is the earliest maturing check in the eastern prairie growing conditions. AAC Hodge was 7 cm shorter with better lodging resistance than Unity. The lodging score for AAC Hodge was lower than the mean of the checks. The test weight of AAC Hodge was similar to the mean of the checks. Over the 3 yr of testing (2017-2019), the 1000-kernel weight of AAC Hodge was equal to, or higher than all the checks. The grain protein content of AAC Hodge was equal to that of AAC Viewfield. AAC Hodge was rated moderately resistant to Fusarium head blight (FHB; Fusarium graminearum Schwabe) and resistant to leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Erikss.), stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis Westend), stem rust (Puccinia graminis Pers. f. sp. tritici Eriks. & E. Henn), and common bunt [Tilletia caries (DC) Tul. & C. Tul.]. AAC Hodge ranged from resistant to moderately susceptible for its reaction to the Ug99 family of stem rusts. AAC Hodge was resistant to orange wheat blossom midge (OBWM) (Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin). AAC Hodge was registered under the CWRS class.

АЛМАТЫ ОБЛЫСЫНЫҢ (TILLETIA CARIES (D.C.) TUL. & C. TUL) ПОПУЛЯЦИЯСЫНА ВЕНГРИЯЛЫҚ БИДАЙ ЛИНИЯЛАРЫНЫҢ ТӨЗІМДІЛІГІ

Қатты қаракүйе ауруы (Tilletia caries (DC.) Tul.) күздік бидайдың кең таралған ауруы. Ол әлемнің бидай өсіретін барлық аймақтарында кездеседі. Эпифитотия жылдары бидай өнімінің азаюы мен сапасының нашарлауына алып келеді. Жасанды індет аясында Алматы облысының Tilletia caries (D.C.) Tul. & C. Tul патогеніне венгриялық 21 бидай сорттарының төзімділігі сыналды. Зерттеу жұмысының барысында мақсатқа жету үшін бірнеше әдістер қолданылды. Олар: Tilletia caries (D.C.) Tul. & C. Tul патогенімен бидайды инокуляциялауда А.И. Борггардта-Анпилогованың әдісі қолданылды, Green Seeker (Trimble Navigation Limited, USA) – аппараты арқылы өсімдіктің биомассасының индексі өлшенді (NDVI – Normalized Difference Vegetative Index). Үлгілерді Tilletia caries (D.C.) Tul. & C. Tul қоздырғышымен залалдануын бағалауда М. Қойшыбаев шкаласы қолданылды. Зерттеу нәтижесінде ауруға жоғары төзімді деп 7 бидай сорты ерекшеленді. Олар: Békés, Szemes, Rege, Rába, Ati, Pilis және Vitorlás. Индекс биомасса көрсеткішін (NDVI) есептеу нəтижесінде 6 генотиптің NDVI көрсеткіші жоғары деп табылды. Құрылымдық белгілеріне талдау нəтижесінде Pilis, Rege және Rába сорттары төрт бірдей белгілері бойынша жоғары көрсеткіш көрсетті. Ерте масақтануымен 4 бидай сорты ерекшеленді. Бұл сорттарды селекция бағдарламасына қатты қаракүйе ауруына төзімді үлгі ретінде ұсынуға болады.

Tilletia caries. [Distribution map].

A new distribution map is provided for Tilletia caries (DC.) Tul. & C. Tul. Ustilaginomycetes: Tilletiales: Tilletiaceae. Host: wheat (Triticale). Information is given on the geographical distribution in Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia), Asia (Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, China, Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Zheijiang, India, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan), Europe (Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Crete, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Sicily, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland), North America (Canada, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, USA, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming), Oceania (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, New Zealand), South America (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela).

SEARCHING FOR RESISTANCE SOURCES TO WHEAT COMMON BUNT (Tilletia caries (DC.)

Common bunt (Tilletia caries (DC.) the disease occurs in areas where autumn wheat is grown. In our country, most of the zoned wheat varieties are infected with this disease. Therefore, foreign germoplasm should look for sources of strength. In our research in the field of artificial epizootic environment, the Hungarian 21 varieties of soft wheat Tilletia caries (DC.) of the pathogen was made the phytopathological and genetic-selection analysis. The study revealed that 15 wheat varieties are resistant to diseases, of which 8 wheat varieties were highly resistant to diseases (IT-0). They are; Ati, Békés, Berény, Csillag, Futár, Pilis, Szala and Rege. We say 7 varieties that are resistant to common bunt (IT-1), they are Kalász, Mentor, Göncöl, Fény, Garaboly, Szemes and Vitorlás. The indicator of the biomass index (NDVI) was determined at the stages of vegetative development of plants in ears, flowering phase and milky stage. The average value of the biomass index is higher than 0.70, with a high score of 9 varieties that have Ati, Mentor, Hajnal, Göncöl, Tisza, Csillag, Futár, Garaboly and Szala. As a result of the analysis of structural characteristics, the varieties Körös, Mentor, Tisza, Szala, Szemes and Rege showed a high index for all characteristics. As a result, disease-resistant and high-performance varieties can be presented as common bunt resistant specimens in immune selection.

Tilletia species on winter wheat grain

Goal. To determine the species composition of the complex of pathogens of bunt diseases of the genus Tilletia on winter wheat grain. Methods. The research was conducted during 2017—2020. 315 samples of winter wheat grain from different soil and climatic zones were analyzed. Seed contamination was determined by washing the grains and centrifuging the spore suspension, followed by counting their number in the Goryaev chamber. Identification of the pathogen was performed in the laboratory by microscopic examination, taking into account the morphological features of teliospores. Results. In 2017 and 2018, the presence of spores of fungi of the genus Tilletia was detected in 23.5 and 28.6% of the analyzed wheat grain samples, respectively. The number of spores per grain varied between 11—388.9 and 2.8—214.8 and averaged 72.5 and 33.7 correspondingly. The largest number of infected samples was observed in 2019 — 47.4%. In the same period, the highest level of seed contamination was observed — up to 1089 spores per grain, in average — 124.6 spores per grain. The lowest level of grain contamination was detected in 2020 — 6.3% of samples with an average of 3.7 spores per grain. Mostly spores of bunt pathogens were found in grain samples from Ternopil, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia regions. The following species have been identified: Tilletia caries, T. controversa, T. laevis. Pathogen T. caries was detected annually. It dominated in 2020 and ranked second in detection rate in 2017—2019. T. controversa was found on grain in 2017—2019 and prevailed among other species. Its part in the complex of pathogens varied from 77.1 to 87.5%. In 2018, T. laevis was also detected. Conclusions. In most samples, spores of fungi of the genus Tilletia were not detected. On average, according to the years of research, grain contamination by bunt fungi were detected in 6.3—47.4% of samples with an average spore load of 3.7—124.6 of grain. The highest number of infected samples and the level of contamination were observed in 2019, the lowest — in 2020. The complex of pathogens is represented by three species: T. caries, T. laevis, T. controversa. T. controversa dominated in 2017—2019 and T. caries — in 2020. T. laevis occurred sporadically.

EVALUATION OF ITMI LINES OF SPRING SOFT WHEAT FOR RESISTANCE TO STINKING SMUT

The aim of the study is to search for new sources of resistance to stinking smut among the ITMI population lines. The article presents analysis of data on the study of reaction of spring soft wheat, which is resistant to stinking smut, to the introduction of pathogen. The experimental part of the work was carried out in 2016-2018 on an infectious background of a phyto-stage in the conditions of the forest-steppe of the Middle Volga region (Samara ARI-branch of SamRC RAS, Bezenchuk country). 77 lines of ITMI mapping population were used as objects, as well as a population of Tilletia caries pathogen collected from zoned and susceptible varieties. In the experiment, healthy seeds (control) and seeds infected with pathogen were sown. For inoculation of wheat seeds with this pathogen, the A. I. Borggardt-Anpilogov method was used. Cleaning was carried out manually, by cutting plants from the plot in the phase of full ripeness. Accounting for damage to samples of stinking smut was carried out in the phase of milk-wax stage of the grain, carefully viewing and counting all the spikes on the plot. A five-grade scale created by V. I. Krivchenko was used for classing the samples resistance to stinking smut. Weather conditions in the years of research were different, but developed mainly favorable for creating an infectious background, as well as for the growth of spring wheat plants. 4 lines had immunity (ITMI-40, 75, 90, 91). Practical stability was observed on 5 lines (damage from 4.3 to 10.0%). 8 lines were poorly susceptible (the maximum lesion was 21.0%). With an average susceptibility, 21 lines were isolated, the remaining lines were mostly affected by more than 50%. Selected samples can serve as a valuable source material for use in immunological breeding programs.

Biocontrol of Mycoflora of Winter Wheat Seeds

Presented are the experimental data on the effect of biofungicides on seed infection and mycoflora of winter wheat seeds of varieties ‘Levada’ and ‘Podolyanka’. The phytostudy which was conducted allowed to determine the presence of micromycetes such as Alternaria alternata (infection rate 6.8–19.5 %), Tilletia caries (1–2 %), Fusarium spp. (0.5–3.5 %), Cladosporium herbarum (1.5–3.5 %), Bipolaris sorokiniana (1.0–4.8 %), Mucor spp. (1.5–12 %), Penicillium spp. (0.5–1.5 %), and Aspergillus spp. (1–1.5 %) on the seeds. The trend to decrease laboratory germination and lower infection rate was observed after the seeds were treated with biofungicides Gaubsin, Planriz, and Trichodermin. The positive effect of the biofungicides on the morphometric parameters of two-weeks-old plants was observed: 1.6 to 2 times increase in height, 2.1 to 2.8 times increase in the lengths of the roots, and 2.7 to 4.4 and 3.4 to 5.5 times increase in phytomass, respectively. The positive effect of Trichodermin on developing winter wheat plants was noted.