Alterations in Kernel Proteome after Infection with Fusarium culmorum in Two Triticale Cultivars with Contrasting Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight

Abstract

Highlight: The level of pathogen alpha-amylase and plant beta-amylase activities could be components of plant-pathogen interaction associated with the resistance of triticale to Fusarium head blight.Triticale was used here as a model to recognize new components of molecular mechanism of resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereals. Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) of two lines distinct in levels of resistance to FHB were applied into a proteome profiling using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) to create protein maps and mass spectrometry (MS) to identify the proteins differentially accumulated between the analyzed lines. This proteomic research was supported by a measurement of alpha- and beta-amylase activities, mycotoxin content, and fungal biomass in the analyzed kernels. The 2-DE analysis indicated a total of 23 spots with clear differences in a protein content between the more resistant and more susceptible triticale lines after infection with Fusarium culmorum. A majority of the proteins were involved in a cell carbohydrate metabolism, stressing the importance of this protein group in a plant response to Fusarium infection. The increased accumulation levels of different isoforms of plant beta-amylase were observed for a more susceptible triticale line after inoculation but these were not supported by a total level of beta-amylase activity, showing the highest value in the control conditions. The more resistant line was characterized by a higher abundance of alpha-amylase inhibitor CM2 subunit and simultaneously a lower activity of alpha-amylase after inoculation. We suggest that the level of pathogen alpha-amylase and plant beta-amylase activities could be components of plant-pathogen interaction associated with the resistance of triticale to FHB.

Plant Abiotic Stress Proteomics: The Major Factors Determining Alterations in Cellular Proteome

“…Another example is a study on triticale infected by F. culmorum where significant increases in β-amylase and α-amylase inhibitor from triticale were found. Data on alterations in protein relative abundance are accompanied by determination of α-amylase and β-amylase enzymatic activities leading to the hypothesis that the activity of plant β-amylase as well as high levels of plant α-amylase inhibitor involved in an inhibition of pathogen α-amylase activity represent important components of plant-pathogen interaction system at molecular level (Perlikowski et al, 2016 ).…”

Identification of Proteomic Components Associated with Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in Rye

“…The details associated with field experiments, including fungal material and analysis of plant resistance components were similar to those described previously for wheat ( Perlikowski et al, 2014 ) and triticale ( Perlikowski et al, 2016 ). Two Polish cultivars of rye, Tur and Horyzo, were used in this research.…”

“…Conidia concentration was adjusted to 5 × 10 4 conidia/ml. The experiments in both locations were performed using the same design and all the details were described precisely in our earlier studies on wheat ( Perlikowski at al., 2014 ) and triticale ( Perlikowski et al, 2016 ). The FHB index (FHBi) was calculated according to the formula: FHBi (%) = (% of head infection × % of heads infected per plot)/100, as described precisely earlier ( Perlikowski at al., 2014 ).…”

“…The selection of plants with high resistance to FHB is difficult since this is regulated both by the genes of host plant and pathogen, and also by external, environmental conditions ( Chełkowski et al, 2000 ; Cowger et al, 2009 ; Mesterházy, 1995 ; Miedaner, 1997 ; Snijders, 2004 ). In our previous work, we found that some important cellular components of wheat ( Perlikowski et al, 2014 ) and triticale ( Perlikowski et al, 2016 ) are associated with resistance to FHB. Although Langevin et al (2004) demonstrated that rye is less susceptible to infections of Fusarium species compared to wheat and triticale, rye can also suffer significantly from FHB.…”

“…The application of proteomic tools has proved to be a valuable strategy to recognize numerous cellular mechanisms involved in the resistance to a broad range of environmental stresses, abiotic and biotic, in different plant species (e.g. Kosmala et al, 2009 , 2012 ; Perlikowski et al, 2014 , 2016 ). In this paper for the first time, we reported the research on rye, involving the analysis of protein accumulation profiles in the FDK of two plant groups, more resistant and more susceptible lines to FHB.…”