title: Transgenic Wheat Expressing a Barley UDP-Glucosyltransferase Detoxifies Deoxynivalenol and Provides High Levels of Resistance to Fusarium graminearum.
abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB), mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating disease of wheat that results in economic losses worldwide. During infection, F. graminearum produces trichothecene mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol (DON), that increase fungal virulence and reduce grain quality. Transgenic wheat expressing a barley UDP-glucosyltransferase (HvUGT13248) were developed and evaluated for FHB resistance, DON accumulation, and the ability to metabolize DON to the less toxic DON-3-O-glucoside (D3G). Point-inoculation tests in the greenhouse showed that transgenic wheat carrying HvUGT13248 exhibited significantly higher resistance to disease spread in the spike (type II resistance) compared with nontransformed controls. Two transgenic events displayed complete suppression of disease spread in the spikes. Expression of HvUGT13248 in transgenic wheat rapidly and efficiently conjugated DON to D3G, suggesting that the enzymatic rate of DON detoxification translates to type II resistance. Under field conditions, FHB severity was variable; nonetheless, transgenic events showed significantly less-severe disease phenotypes compared with the nontransformed controls. In addition, a seedling assay demonstrated that the transformed plants had a higher tolerance to DON-inhibited root growth than nontransformed plants. These results demonstrate the utility of detoxifying DON as a FHB control strategy in wheat.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Plant Biology.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, and.
authors.forename: Sanghyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, and.
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heinen
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.;
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dill-Macky
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, 3430 Tulln, Austria;
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berthiller
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, U.S.A.;
authors.forename: Natalya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nersesian
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, U.S.A.;
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Clemente
authors.affiliation: 6 USDA-ARS, Bacterial Foodborne Pathogen and Mycology Research Unit, Peoria, IL 61604, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Plant Biology.|2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, and.
authors.forename: Gary J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Muehlbauer
mesh_terms: D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D005670:Fusarium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005960:Glucosides / Q000378:metabolism; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001467:Hordeum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014255:Trichothecenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D014530:Uridine Diphosphate / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005960:Glucosides; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014255:Trichothecenes; C542050:deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside; D014530:Uridine Diphosphate; D005964:Glucosyltransferases; C000606662:HvUGT13248 protein, barley; C007262:deoxynivalenol