Linking Multi-Omics to Wheat Resistance Types to Fusarium Head Blight to Reveal the Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum is a worldwide disease which has destructive effects on wheat production, resulting in severe yield reduction and quality deterioration, while FHB-infected wheat grains are toxic to people and animals due to accumulation of fungal toxins. Although impressive progress towards understanding host resistance has been achieved, our knowledge of the mechanism underlying host resistance is still quite limited due to the complexity of wheat–pathogen interactions. In recent years, disease epidemics, the resistance germplasms and components, the genetic mechanism of FHB, and disease management and control, etc., have been well reviewed. However, the resistance mechanism of FHB is quite complex with Type I, II to V resistances. In this review, we focus on the potential resistance mechanisms by linking different resistance types to multi-omics and emphasize the pathways or genes that may play significant roles in the different types of resistance. Deciphering the complicated mechanism of FHB resistance types in wheat at the integral levels based on multi-omics may help discover the genes or pathways that are critical for different FHB resistance, which could then be utilized and manipulated to improve FHB resistance in wheat breeding programs by using transgenic approaches, gene editing, or marker assisted selection strategies.

Investigating the Resistance Mechanism of Wheat Varieties to Fusarium Head Blight Using Comparative Metabolomics

“…However, their altered profiles depend on the genotype of the wheat variety. Particularly, phenylpropanoid compounds, giving rise to metabolites, such as flavonoids, lignans, phenylpropanoid esters, and hydroxycinnamic acid amides, are believed to be involved in plant resistance to fungal pathogens [ 33 ]. In this study, we identified 88 flavonoids, 15 benzene derivatives, and 29 hydroxycinnamate derivatives, among which, 37, 8, and 20 were, respectively, significantly altered in the AN8455, YM158 and SM3.…”

“…In this study, we identified 88 flavonoids, 15 benzene derivatives, and 29 hydroxycinnamate derivatives, among which, 37, 8, and 20 were, respectively, significantly altered in the AN8455, YM158 and SM3. The flavonoid compound naringenin, a reportedly efficient inhibitor of F. graminearum growth in vitro [ 34 ], was upregulated by 12.55-, 2.89-, 3.53-fold in AN8455, YM158, and SM3, respectively; o-coumaric acid, a hydroxycinnamate derivative, which reduce pathogen advancement as phytoalexins and cell wall strengthening agent [ 33 ], was upregulated by 7.74-, 5.41-, 3.71-fold in AN8455, YM158, and SM3 respectively. However, apparently, more phenylpropanoid compounds were significantly upregulated in AN8455 than in YM158 and SM3.…”

Wheat Seed Coating with Streptomyces sp. Strain DEF39 Spores Protects against Fusarium Head Blight

“…DEF39 may therefore increase the ability of the plant to limit pathogen penetration, the so-called type 1 resistance, as described by Schroeder and Christensen [26]. Indeed, type 1 resistance is associated with different phytohormone-related pathways that are known to be involved in hormonal crosstalk of any plant-microbe interaction [27], as well as in the expression of a basal defense response [28] that can be triggered by the physical presence or the production by some DEF39 metabolites.…”

Identification and Functional Characterisation of Two Oat UDP-Glucosyltransferases Involved in Deoxynivalenol Detoxification

“…In wheat, DON production by F. graminearum is crucial for the efficient spreading of the pathogen from the initially infected spikelet throughout the whole spike [ 33 , 34 ]. Mechanisms counteracting DON (often separated as Type III resistance) lead to increased spreading resistance (type II resistance) [ 35 ]. Barley exhibits higher resistance than wheat to pathogen spread, and the loss in trichothecene production consequently has a far less pronounced phenotype.…”