Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease occurring in small grain cereals worldwide. The disease results in the reduction of grain yield, and mycotoxins accumulated in grain are also harmful to both humans and animals. It has been reported that response to pathogen infection may be associated with the morphological and developmental traits of the host plant, e.g. earliness and plant height. Despite many studies, effective markers for selection of barley genotypes with increased resistance to FHB have not been developed. In the present study, we investigated 100 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) of spring barley. Plants were examined in field conditions (three locations) in a completely randomized design with three replications. Barley genotypes were artificially infected with spores of Fusarium culmorum before heading. Apart from the main phenotypic traits (plant height, spike characteristic, grain yield), infected kernels were visually scored and the content of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin was investigated. A set of 70 Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) were detected through phenotyping of the mapping population in field conditions and genotyping using a barley Ilumina 9K iSelect platform. Six loci were detected for the FHB index on chromosomes 2H, 3H, 5H, and 7H. A region on the short arm of chromosome 2H was detected in which many QTLs associated with FHB- and yield-related traits were found. This study confirms that agromorphological traits are tightly related to FHB and should be taken into consideration when breeding barley plants for FHB resistance.
Highlights
Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scabs affects different species of crops around the world
Experimental fields belonging to the Poznan Plant Breeding Company (PPB) in three locations were used for the present studies: Nagradowice (NAD–Western Poland, 52 ̊19014@N, 17 ̊ 08054@E), Tulce (TUL—Western Poland, 52 ̊20035.2@N 17 ̊04032.8@E), and Leszno (LES— Western Poland, 51 ̊50045@N 16 ̊34050@E)
Evaluation of disease severity was studied by using measurements of six FHB-related traits in both previously mentioned conditions
Summary
Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scabs affects different species of crops around the world. The infection is caused by several fungal pathogens, including Fusarium culmorum G. Sm.) Sacc and Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph stage: Gibberella zeae). Fusarium culmorum has been found to dominate in regions with warm and humid conditions, whereas Fusarium graminearum has been associated with cool, wet, and humid conditions [1]. Fusarium spp. produce trichothecene—deoxynivalenol (DON) [2]. This mycotoxin disrupts normal cell function by inhibiting protein synthesis [3], which results in reduced grain quality and yield
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