Fusarium crown rot caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum in cereal crops: recent progress and future prospects

Abstract

Diseases caused by Fusarium pathogens inflict major yield and quality losses on many economically important plant species worldwide, including cereals. Fusarium crown rot (FCR), caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum, is a cereal disease that occurs in many arid and semi-arid cropping regions of the world. In recent years, this disease has become more prevalent, in part as a result of the adoption of moisture-preserving cultural practices, such as minimum tillage and stubble retention. In this pathogen profile, we present a brief overview of recent research efforts that have not only advanced our understanding of the interactions between F. pseudograminearum and cereal hosts, but have also provided new disease management options. For instance, significant progress has been made in the genetic characterization of pathogen populations, the development of new tools for disease prediction, and the identification and pyramiding of loci that confer quantitative resistance to FCR in wheat and barley. In addition, transcriptome analyses have revealed new insights into the processes involved in host defence. Significant progress has also been made in understanding the mechanistic details of the F. pseudograminearum infection process. The sequencing and comparative analyses of the F. pseudograminearum genome have revealed novel virulence factors, possibly acquired through horizontal gene transfer. In addition, a conserved pathogen gene cluster involved in the degradation of wheat defence compounds has been identified, and a role for the trichothecene toxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in pathogen virulence has been reported. Overall, a better understanding of cereal host-F. pseudograminearum interactions will lead to the development of new control options for this increasingly important disease problem. Taxonomy: Fusarium pseudograminearum O'Donnell & Aoki; Kingdom Fungi; Phylum Ascomycota; Subphylum Pezizomycotina; Class Sordariomycetes; Subclass Hypocreomycetidae; Order Hypocreales; Family Nectriaceae; Genus Fusarium. Disease symptoms: Fusarium crown rot caused by F. pseudograminearum is also known as crown rot, foot rot and root rot. Infected seedlings can die before or after emergence. If infected seedlings survive, typical disease symptoms are browning of the coleoptile, subcrown internode, lower leaf sheaths and adjacent stems and nodal tissues; this browning can become evident within a few weeks after planting or throughout plant development. Infected plants may develop white heads with no or shrivelled grains. Disease symptoms are exacerbated under water limitation. Identification and detection: Fusarium pseudograminearum macroconidia usually contain three to five septa (22-60.5 × 2.5-5.5 μm). On potato dextrose agar (PDA), aerial mycelia appear floccose and reddish white, with red or reddish-brown reverse pigmentation. Diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests based on the amplification of the gene encoding translation elongation factor-1a (TEF-1a) have been developed for molecular identification. Host range: All maj...

The bZIP transcription factor FpAda1 is essential for fungal growth and conidiation in Fusarium pseudograminearum

“…The plant pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum is the causative agent of Fusarium crown rot (FCR) in wheat and barley, resulting in substantial yield losses worldwide (Kazan and Gardiner 2018). Particularly, in the Huanghuai wheat-growing region of China, it has been reported that F. pseudograminearum was the dominant pathogen of FCR (Li et al 2012;Zhou et al 2019).…”

“…However, F. pseudograminearum is heterothallic and it was segregated by molecular analyses (Aoki and O'Donnell 1999;Gardiner et al 2018). Like F. graminearum, F. pseudograminearum also causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) and produces deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin under favorable conditions (Kazan and Gardiner 2018;Obanor et al 2013). Despite the devastating effects caused by FCR and FHB, establishing effective disease management strategies has been very difficult.…”

TMT-based Quantitative Proteomic Analysis Reveals Defense Mechanism of Wheat Against the Crown Rot Pathogen Fusarium Pseudograminearum

“…This showed that the defense mechanism of wheat to the crown rot pathogen F. pseudograminearum was complicated. Although many factors related to crown rot resistance have been identi ed, the detailed molecular mechanisms of crown rot resistance are still poorly understood [1].…”

“…F. pseudograminearum is one of the most devastating plant pathogens among soil-borne diseases. F. pseudograminearum can absorb nutrients from major winter cereals to colonize [1]. The colonization of F. pseudograminearum initiates through epidermal penetration, most often through stomatal apertures, and progresses into the parenchymatous hypoderm.…”

Purification and heterologous expression of a novel antifungal protein from Bacillus subtilis strain Z-14

“…Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) sheath blight, a severe production constraint inducing heavy crop losses in epidemic regions, is found in almost all temperate wheat growing areas in the world and is a soil borne fungal disease caused by Rhizoctonia cerealis [1]. With the reform of planting systems, the popularization of high-yield varieties, and increases in water, fertilizer and density, the harm caused by wheat sheath blight has been become increasingly serious [2]. Hosts lack adequate resistance to wheat to sheath blight disease, thought be the results of emerging virulent pathogen populations.…”