A deletion mutation in TaHRC confers Fhb1 resistance to Fusarium head blight in wheat

Authors: SU, ZHENGQI - Kansas State University; BERNARDO, AMY - Kansas State University; TIAN, BIN - Kansas State University; CHEN, HUI - Kansas State University; WANG, SHAN - Kansas State University; MA, HONGXIANG - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences; CAI, SHIBIN - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences; LIU, DONGTAO - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, DADONG - Kansas State University; LI, TAO - Kansas State University; TRICK, HAROLD - Kansas State University; St Amand, Paul; YU, JIANMING - Iowa State University; ZHANG, ZENGYAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Bai, Guihua

Submitted to: Nature Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/23/2019
Publication Date: 6/10/2019
Citation: Su, Z., Bernardo, A., Tian, B., Chen, H., Wang, S., Ma, H., Cai, S., Liu, D., Zhang, D., Li, T., Trick, H., St Amand, P.C., Yu, J., Zhang, Z., Bai, G. 2019. A deletion mutation in TaHRC confers Fhb1 resistance to Fusarium head blight in wheat. Nature Genetics. 51:1099-1105. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0425-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0425-8

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a destructive wheat disease in the USA and many other countries. Fhb1 is a major gene for FHB resistance identified in Chinese germplasm. We cloned a gene encoding a putative histidine-rich calcium binding protein (TaHRC) and determined that TaHRC is the gene underlying the FHB resistance of Fhb1. TaHRC encodes a protein conferring FHB susceptibility. We found a deletion in the TaHRC sequence that switches a susceptible allele of Fhb1 into the resistance allele. Cloning of Fhb1 provides diagnostic markers for breeding and reveals the possibility of using bioengineering approaches to improve FHB resistance.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB), mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a destructive wheat disease that threatens global wheat production. Fhb1 is a quantitative trait locus (QTL) discovered in Chinese germplasm and provides the most stable and the largest effect on FHB resistance in wheat. Here we show that TaHRC encoding a putative histidine-rich calcium binding protein is the key determinant of Fhb1. We demonstrated that TaHRC encodes a nuclear protein conferring FHB susceptibility, and a deletion mutation including the start codon of this gene results in FHB resistance. Identical sequence of TaHRC-R allele in diverse accessions indicated that Fhb1 had a single origin, and phylogenic and haplotype analyses suggested that the TaHRC-R allele most likely originated from the genotypes carrying the Dahongpao haplotype. Cloning of Fhb1 opens a new avenue to improvement of FHB resistance in wheat, and possibly in other cereal crops, by manipulation of the TaHRC sequence through bioengineering approaches.