ARS | Publication request: EXPRESSION ANALYSIS OF DEFENSE-RELATED GENES IN WHEAT IN RESPONSE TO INFECTIONS BY FUSARIUM GRAMINEARUM

Submitted to: National Fusarium Head Blight Forum Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 31, 2005
Publication Date: December 13, 2005
Citation: Kong, L., Ohm, H.W., Anderson, J.M. 2005. Expression analysis of defense-related genes in wheat in response to infections by fusarium graminearum. National Fusarium Head Blight Forum [abstract]. p. 165.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the fungus Fusarium species, is a worldwide disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The Chinese cultivar, Ning7840, is one of few wheat cultivars with resistance to FHB. GeneCalling, an open-architecture, mRNA-profiling technology, was used to identify differentially expressed genes induced or suppressed in spikes after fungal infection in FHB resistant cultivar Ning7840-Fusarium graminearum interaction. Over 150 individual cDNA fragments representing different transcripts expressed in wheat spikes were examined and sequenced, and putative functions assigned to some of the unigenes based on BLASTN and BLASTTX. Of the unigenes identified, 28 were assigned function in primary metabolism and photosynthesis, 7 were involved in defense response, 14 were in gene expression and regulation, 25 encoded proteins associated with plant cell wall degradation, 42 were without a known function with sequences in the database, and interestingly, 3 genes showed similarities to cloned disease resistance proteins. Of particular interest in this study were genes associated with resistance and defense genes to pathogen infection. Real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR indicated that, of 51 genes tested, 19 genes showed 2-fold or greater induction in the FHB resistant wheat lines KS24-2 containing FHB resistance derived from Lophopyrum elongatum and Ning7840, in contrast to susceptible wheat line Len, while another 32 genes were not significantly induced in either of the FHB resistant wheat lines compared with susceptible Len. Characterization of these genes, whose activity is correlated with FHB resistance and may be involved in wheat-fungal interactions, is ongoing in this study.