Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB), a devastating wheat disease, results in loss of yield and production of mycotoxins including deoxynivalenol (DON) in infected grains. DON is harmful to human and animal health and facilitates the spread of FHB symptoms. Its conversion into DON-3-glucoside (D3G) by UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) is correlated with FHB resistance, and only few gene members in wheat have been investigated. Here, Fusarium graminearum and DON-induced TaUGT6 expression in the resistant cultivar Sumai 3 was cloned and characterized. TaUGT6::GFP was subcellularly located throughout cells. Purified TaUGT6 protein could convert DON into D3G to some extent in vitro. Transformation of TaUGT6 into Arabidopsis increased root tolerance when grown on agar plates containing DON. Furthermore, TaUGT6 overexpression in wheat showed improved resistance to Fusarium spread after F. graminearum inoculation. Overall, this study provides useful insight into a novel UGT gene for FHB resistance in wheat.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the third largest grain crop after corn and rice in terms of production, with > 700 million tons consumed by 2.5 billion people worldwide (Ma et al, 2020)
A less dense hyphal network was clearly seen in both TaUGT6-779 and TaUGT6-790, and the hyphal was not smooth in the WT Fielder (Figures 7B,C). These results showed that TaUGT6 overexpression could increase Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in plant tissue
Breeding to improve FHB resistance, DON accumulation resistance, was the most reliable strategy to control FHB and minimize both yield and quality losses, and knowledge regarding the genetic basis underlining wheat–F. graminearum interaction was incorporated in this study
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the third largest grain crop after corn and rice in terms of production, with > 700 million tons consumed by 2.5 billion people worldwide (Ma et al, 2020). Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is one of the most devastating wheat diseases in China and other parts of the world, where frequent rainfall occurs from the flowering to early grain filling stages (Ma et al, 2019). This disease can cause marked yield loss via poor grain filling and reduced test weight, with up to 70% yield losses under favorable conditions (Bai et al, 2000). DON is considered a virulence factor that induces FHB spread within a spike, and DON delivery to the rachis node could be a trigger for biotrophy–necrotrophy switch (Lemmens et al, 2005; Bönnighausen et al, 2019)
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