Authors: Wei Jiang 1, Brian Steffenson 2, Mark E. Sorrells 3, Nicholas Santantonio 4, Steven S. Xu 5, Wanlong Li 1
1. Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD
2. Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN
3. School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
4. School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
5. Crop Improvement and Genetics Research, ARS-USDA, Albany, CA
Corresponding Author: Wanlong Li, Wanlong.Li@sdstate.edu
Presenting Author: Wei Jiang
Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB), commonly known as scab, is a devastating disease affecting wheat and barley worldwide, leading to significant yield losses and contamination of mycotoxins. While progress has been made in wheat in understanding the host resistance to FHB by identification of the major QTLs Fhb1 and Fhb7, breeding FHB resistance in barley is hindered by the lack of resources with sufficient resistance levels. We are developing marker-free Fhb7 transgenic barley and successfully obtaining 14 transgenic lines in elite two-rowed barley Excelsior Gold (EG). Tests of two transgenic lines and EG in field and greenhouse conditions showed that insertion of Fhb7 significantly reduced the FHB infection. We also cloned the Fhb7 gene from the J1 genome of sea wheatgrass (Thinopyrum junceiforme) and transformed it into Fielder wheat for overexpression. Greenhouse inoculation experiments demonstrated that one transgenic line lowered disease incidence by ~90%. These results showed that Fhb7 functions in both wheat and barley and the transgenic plants are valuable resources for breeding FHB resistance in these crops.Keywords: Wheat, Barley, Fusarium head blight (FHB), Fhb7, Inoculation, Resistance