Genetics of Fusarium head blight resistance in three wheat genotypes

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is global concern as recent outbreaks reported in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. The disease has emerged as one of the most important plant diseases worldwide in 21st century. One of the major threats posed by FHB fungus is the mycotoxin production which is harmful to human and animal health. Development of disease resistant cultivars is the only effective method for managing the disease. Control of these pathogen / Fusarium spp. is also challenging due to limited sources of known resistance. The famous Chinese wheat cultivar Sumai 3 and Frontana are the main sources of resistance to this disease. For genetic analysis and incorporation of FHB resistance into recently released high yielding wheat cultivars, HD 2967 and DPW 621-50, crosses were made with Sumai 3, Frontana and Aldan. The F2 plants from the crosses HD 2967/Frontana (140), HD 2967/Aldan (150), HD 2967/Sumai 3 (169) and DPW 621-50/Sumai 3 (182) were screened for resistance under controlled conditions. Disease score was recorded to identify resistant, moderately resistant and susceptible plants. The genetic ratios for resistance to FHB indicated a complex nature of resistance in all the three donors.

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Head Blight Disease Causing Fungus Fusarium graminearum in Northern Wheat Belt of India

“…FG is one of the emerging and economically important diseases affecting wheat in India [ 4 , 65 ]. Diversity analysis is essential to infer the population genetics of such an important disease for framing cost-effective management tactics.…”

Breeding Tools for Assessing and Improving Resistance and Limiting Mycotoxin Production by Fusarium graminearum in Wheat

“…Breeding for resistance against FHB aims to reduce the impact of the pathogen on crop yield as well as mycotoxin contamination in infected grain. Various strategies for breeding against Fusarium head blight have been embarked on because resistance against the disease is multigenic and is further confounded by the large influence of genotype by environment interactions [ 1 , 2 ]. Resistance against FHB is conferred by more than 250 quantitative trait loci (QTL) distributed across the entire chromosome cascade of the wheat genome [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”