Fusarium graminearum, the most common causal agent of Fusarium Head Blight on wheat, can
cause significant yield loss and release mycotoxins that are known to cause
diseases in both humans and animals. The level of aggressiveness in F.
graminearum is both heritable and a highly variable trait. Genetic
resistance in wheat is an important part of FHB management and could affect the
populations of F. graminearum. I hypothesize that the aggressiveness of F.
graminearum is affected by the resistance level of the wheat source.
Isolates of F. graminearum were collected from naturally infected wheat
lines with different levels of resistance. For this research 31 isolates from
highly susceptible and 26 isolates from moderately resistant wheat lines were
used. We conducted in vitro phenotyping of these isolates by recording the area
of mycelial growth at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 days and sporulation at 10 days. To
assess the aggressiveness of the isolates, ‘Norm’ spring wheat was grown in the
greenhouse and inoculated at anthesis. Three disease ratings were taken weekly
after inoculations and used to calculate an AUDPC value. Once harvested the
percentage of Fusarium diseased kernels (FDK) per head was calculated.
The harvested kernels will then be used for quantification of the mycotoxin
deoxynivalenol (DON). Both the in vitro phenotyping and aggressiveness assay
experiments were repeated twice. DNA was extracted from all the F.
graminearum isolates and sequenced on an SP lane of a Novaseq6000. A linear
mixed model was used to analyze the isolate’s phenotypes and found that the
isolate’s source significantly affects the AUDPC, in vitro growth rate, and
spore count. Isolates from the susceptible wheat lines were more aggressive
than isolates from the resistant wheat lines. A strong significant correlation was
found between AUDPC and FDK. There was also a significant correlation between
the in vitro growth rate and FDK showing isolates that grow faster in vitro
produce more diseased kernels in planta. The whole-genome sequences are
currently being analyzed. Results from the data analyzed so far show resistant
wheat lines are not selecting for more aggressive isolates. From these results,
a better understanding of the factors affecting individual strain
aggressiveness can be achieved and be useful for managing the deployment of
disease-resistant wheat varieties.