ARS | Publication request: TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROFILING OF WHEAT AFTER TREATMENT WITH SEPTORIA TRITCI LEAF BLOTCH, HEAD SCAB, BARLEY AND CEREAL YELLOW DWARF VIRUS, AND HESSIAN FLY

Submitted to: Plant and Animal Genome Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 12, 2002
Publication Date: January 9, 2003
Citation: Anderson, J.M., Goodwin, S.B., Ohm, H.W., Lohret, T.A., Crasta, O.R., Williams, C.E. 2003. Transcriptional profiling of wheat after treatment with septoria tritci leaf blotch, head scab, barley and cereal yellow dwarf virus, and hessian fly. Plant and Animal Genome Conference Proceedings.

Technical Abstract: Host resistance is one of the leading means of limiting losses to pests and pathogens of wheat. Although many resistance genes are known in wheat, whether resistance to different organisms occurs by the same or multiple pathways is not known. To identify resistance pathways, wheat tissue was treated with pests and pathogens and analyzed by GeneCalling®, an open-architecture transcript-profiling technology (CuraGen Corp.). The pathogens tested were: Mycosphaerella graminicola (cause of septoria tritici leaf blotch); Fusarium graminearum (head scab); Barley and Cereal Yellow Dwarf Viruses; and Mayetiola destructor (Hessian fly). The GeneCalling experiments profiled > 12,000 cDNA fragments (bands) per sample and detected many bands that were differentially modulated by at least 1.5 times in each pathogen treatment. For example, in the Mycosphaerella graminicola-treated tissue, 4900 bands were differentially modulated in at least one of several time points, divided equally between those that were up (2418) or down (2482) regulated. Resistance responses began by the earliest time points sampled. Sequencing of 685 bands revealed many genes known to be activated during defense responses including phenylalanine ammonia lyase, glucanases, chitinases, peroxidases, and thaumatin-like proteins. Numerous additional genes appeared to be involved in cell signaling including a high number of kinases and phosphatases. Approximately 10% of the sequences had no matches in any of the six databases searched and an additional 8% had only weak matches (E-values > 1e-08). These may represent previously unknown mechanisms of resistance. These analyses revealed a rapid, coordinated resistance response in wheat that may vary depending on the pest or pathogen encountered.