Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399177
Research Project: Improving Food Safety by Controlling Mycotoxin Contamination and Enhancing Climate Resilience of Wheat and Barley

Location: Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research

Title: Genome sequence resource of the head blight pathogens Fusarium asiaticum and F. graminearum isolated from cereal crops and gramineous weeds in Korea and China

Author
item JEONG, EUNJI - Soongsil University
item LIM, JAE YUN - Soongsil University
item Proctor, Robert
item LEE, YIN-WON - Seoul National University
item XU, JIANHONG - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences
item SHI, JIANRONG - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences
item LIU, XIN - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences
item SEO, JEONG-AH - Soongsil University

Submitted to: PhytoFrontiers
Publication Type: Rapid Release Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2023
Publication Date: 12/5/2023
Citation: Jeong, E., Lim, J.Y., Proctor, R.H., Lee, Y.-W., Xu, J., Shi, J., Liu, X., Seo, J.-A. 2023. Genome sequence resource of the head blight pathogens Fusarium asiaticum and F. graminearum isolated from cereal crops and gramineous weeds in Korea and China. PhytoFrontiers. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-10-22-0120-A.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-10-22-0120-A

Interpretive Summary: Head blight is a destructive disease of wheat, barley and other cereal crops. The disease negatively impacts agriculture worldwide by reducing crop yields. The disease also leads to contamination of grain with toxins that are health hazards to humans, livestock and pets. Two species of the fungus Fusarium are the most common causes of head blight in many parts of Asia. By contrast, only one of the species commonly causes the disease in the Americas and Europe. In the current study, we determined the DNA sequences of all chromosomes in 16 strains of the fungi isolated from cultivated cereals and wild grasses in China and South Korea. Determination of the sequences is a critical step in understanding the differences of fungi that cause head blight in different parts of the world. Knowledge of this diversity will aid development of strategies to reduce the negative impacts of head blight on agriculture and on human and animal health.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a serious fungal disease of cereals that results in yield loss and mycotoxin contamination worldwide. Two of the most prominent causes of FHB are Fusarium asiaticum and F. graminearum. This announcement provides genome sequence data for nine F. asiaticum strains and seven F. graminearum strains isolated from cultivated and wild gramineous plants in China and Korea. To our knowledge, the assembly for strain KCTC16664, which generated as part of this study, is the first chromosome-level assembly for F. asiaticum. The study also provides an initial comparative analysis of the distribution of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters present in strains of F. asiaticum and F. graminearum from China and Korea. The genome sequences will aid studies aimed at elucidating the role of secondary metabolites in the ecology of Fusarium and assessments of how geography, environmental conditions, and/or agricultural practices in different regions of the world affect genome diversity in two of the most important FHB pathogens.