Authors
Hong-Xiang
Ma
,
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China, and Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506
;
Gui-Hua
Bai
,
Unites States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service-Plant Science and Entomology Research Unit
;
Bikram S.
Gill
,
Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506
; and
L. Patrick
Hart
,
Department of Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824
ABSTRACT
Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, is an important disease of wheat worldwide. Production of deoxynivalenol (DON) in infected wheat grain by F. graminearum is a major safety concern when considering use of the grain as feed for livestock or for human consumption. Determining chromosome locations of FHB-related genes may facilitate enhancement of wheat resistance to FHB and DON accumulation. In this study, a set of 30 ditelosomic lines derived from Chinese Spring, a moderately FHB-resistant landrace from China, were evaluated for proportion of scabbed spikelets per inoculated spike in the greenhouse and for DON contamination in harvested grain over 2 years. Significant variation in the proportion of scabbed spikelets was observed among ditelosomic lines, ranging from 13 to 95%. Seven ditelosomic lines exhibited a greater proportion of scabbed spikelets and three of these also had greater DON content than Chinese Spring (P = 0.01), suggesting that those missing chromosome arms may carry genes that contribute to resistance to FHB. Six ditelosomic lines had a reduction in proportion of scabbed spikelets, suggesting that susceptibility factors or resistance suppressors may be on these missing chromosomal arms. Selection for low proportion of scabbed spikelets in general will select for low DON content.
