Resistance against Fusarium Head Blight in Transgenic Wheat Plants Expressing the ScNPR1 gene. Issue 4 (22nd February 2017) - Yu, Guihong
Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a severe global wheat disease that may cause severe yield losses, especially during epidemic years. Transforming the regulatory genes in the metabolic pathways of disease resistance into wheat via transgenic methods is one way to improve resistance to FHB. ScNPR1 ( Secale cereale‐NPR1 ), a regulatory gene for systemic acquired resistance (SAR), was isolated from S. cereale cv Jingzhouheimai and transformed into the moderately FHB‐susceptible wheat variety Ningmai 13. RT‐PCR analysis indicated that the ScNPR1 gene was stably expressed in transgenic plants. An evaluation of the resistance to FHB revealed that six ScNPR1 transgenic lines (NP1, NP2, NP3, NP4, NP5 and NP6) exhibited significantly higher FHB resistance than the wild‐type wheat Ningmai 13 and the null‐segregated plants. The expression of pathogenesis‐related (PR) genes after Fusarium graminearum inoculation was earlier or higher than those in the wild‐type variety Ningmai 13. The high expression in the early stages of PR genes should account for the enhanced FHB resistance in the transgenic lines. Our results suggest that overexpression of ScNPR1 could be used to improve FHB resistance in wheat.