Host genes and mechanisms that promote Fusarium graminearum virulence and/or facilitate infection provide novel targets for controlling Fusarium head blight. The goal of this project is to identify these susceptibility genes/mechanisms and to assess if knockdown of these ‘susceptibility genes’ in wheat can promote resistance against FHB. When combined with wheat variants that contain missense or nonsense mutations that lower the activity of susceptibility genes, this approach provides an inheritable non-GMO approach for enhancing FHB resistance and reducing DON accumulation. Two sets of susceptibility genes have been targeted for knockdown in wheat: (1) A 9-lipoxygenase (9-LOX) encoded by Lpx3, which is involved in the biosynthesis of oxidized lipids (oxylipins), and (2) Genes encoding the defense repressors NPR3 and NPR4, which repress activity of the SA receptor NPR1 that contributes to resistance against Fusarium graminearum. Progress on these efforts will be presented.

Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 59-0206-7-006, 59-0206-0-186, 59-0206-0-179, 59-0206-0-151, and 59-206-2-161 as cooperative projects with the U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative, Agreement No. 58-5020-1-013 as a USDA-ARS Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement, and by Award No. 2021-67013-33573 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.