Common Contracts

PROJECT 2 ABSTRACT

November 23rd, 2022

• Filed
  November 23rd, 2022

Project Goals: The long-term goal of this project is to identify native wheat gene variants that improve FHB resistance and/or reduce DON accumulation. Wheat genes that facilitate fungal growth, development and virulence provide excellent targets for controlling disease. With previous support from the USWBSI, the PI’s lab has identified 9-lipoxygenases (9-LOXs) as susceptibility factors, which when knocked down by RNA-interference (RNAi) technology in the hexaploid wheat cv Bobwhite, enhance FHB resistance. Resistance in the Lpx3-RNAi lines was characterized by lack of spread of infection from the inoculated spikelet. The goals of the proposed work are to establish whether (i) the FHB resistance promoting effect of Lpx3 knockdown is also effective in wheat backgrounds other than Bobwhite, (ii) one or more Lpx3 homeolog(s) in wheat contribute towards susceptibility to Fusarium graminearum, and (iii) nonsense and/or missense Lpx3 variants can provide a non-GMO strategy that in the future