Download or read book Control of Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat I Evaluation of Host Plant Resistance and Fungicides II Molecular Markers Associated with QTL for Resistance written by Nathan H. Karplus and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat has become an increasingly important disease over the past 25 years. Significant grain and quality reductions due to FHB can be observed when there is a favorable environment for disease development. Fusarium graminearum, the primary fungal pathogen that causes FHB in the U.S. produces deoxynivalenol, a mycotoxin that can cause serious health problems for both humans and livestock when consumed in FHB infected grain. While cultural practices and fungicide treatments can suppress FHB, the use of resistant cultivars is also an essential tool for control of FHB. Breeding for resistance to FHB has become a very large part of wheat and barley breeding programs in temperate climates. Various sources of resistance have been used to develop new cultivars that have high levels of resistance. The primary objective of this study was to combine multiple sources of resistance using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from three FHB-resistant University of Illinois breeding lines (IL96-6472, IL97-6755 and IL97-1828) to obtain transgressive segregants that are significantly better than the three parents. The RIL population, consisting of 266 lines, was evaluated for FHB resistance in the greenhouse and in a mist irrigated, inoculated disease nursery. Forty-three simple sequence repeat (SSR) and 250 Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) polymorphic markers were used to create a linkage map using Joinmap 3.0. PlabQTL was used for composite interval mapping and detection of significant QTL. QTL were found for all measured traits except for mean severity in the 2009 greenhouse evaluation. QTL on the short arm of chromosome 3B were identified for all measured traits and accounted for 4.2% to 18.8% of the phenotypic variation, depending on the trait. We believe that these markers are associated with Fhb1 or QTL tightly linked to Fhb1. Minor QTL were also found on chromosomes 7B, 1A, 5D, 6B and 6A and explained a smaller amount of phenotypic variation (between 2.5% and 8.7%). A total of 13 transgressive segregants were found that were significantly better than the mean of the three FHB-resistant parents for more than one trait. These thirteen lines were found to carry many of the resistance alleles associated with the QTL found in the study. Although the population was derived from three FHB-resistant parents, and there were likely QTL that were not detected due to a lack of polymorphism, we believe that multiple genes for resistance were combined in the transgressive segregants observed in the RIL. The second study examined the performance of FHB-resistant and susceptible cultivars with three fungicide treatments. Until recently, there were few fungicides labeled for suppression of FHB. Numerous studies have shown that fungicides containing the active ingredient tebuconazole are very effective in reducing losses caused by FHB. While fungicides can be a useful tool for FHB suppression, they do not provide complete control, and their efficacy is greatly affected by timing. Planting cultivars that are resistant to FHB infection provides farmers with continual protection against the disease. The experiment was grown as a split plot with fungicide treatment (No Fungicide, Prosaro® (tebuconazole+prothioconazole) and Folicur® (tebuconazole) as the main plot and cultivar (6 susceptible and 6 resistant) as the sub-plots. Based on the results of this experiment, it is apparent that resistant cultivars are a necessity to provide the best control of FHB. Under the extremely heavy disease pressure of our FHB nursery, fungicides did not provide sufficient control of FHB on susceptible cultivars. Not surprisingly, we found the best method for controlling FHB is to plant a resistant cultivar in addition to applying a fungicide; however, we were interested to see how resistant cultivars alone would perform when compared to susceptible cultivars treated with a fungicide. Resistant cultivars performed impressively, and it was apparent that resistant cultivars are an essential first step of an effective program for controlling FHB. Resistant cultivars without fungicides were able to yield well and provide excellent net economic returns that were not significantly different than resistant cultivars that were treated with a fungicide. This would suggest that under low to moderate disease pressure there no need for fungicide application for FHB control. This experiment illustrated that resistant cultivars provide sufficient protection from FHB; however, to achieve high quality grain with low levels of FDK and DON, fungicide application may be needed in years when there is a high risk of severe disease pressure.

Download or read book Wheat Blast written by Sudheer Kumar and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wheat Blast provides systematic and practical information on wheat blast pathology, summarises research progress and discusses future perspectives based on current understanding of the existing issues. The book explores advance technologies that may help in deciding the path for future research and development for better strategies and techniques to manage the wheat blast disease. It equips readers with basic and applied understanding on the identification of disease, its distribution and chances of further spread in new areas, its potential to cause yield losses to wheat, the conditions that favour disease development, disease prediction modelling, resistance breeding methods and management strategies against wheat blast. Features: Provides comprehensive information on wheat blast pathogen and its management under a single umbrella Covers disease identification and diagnostics which will be helpful to check introduction in new areas Discusses methods and protocol to study the different aspects of the disease such as diagnostics, variability, resistance screening, epiphytotic creation etc. Gives deep insight on the past, present and future outlook of wheat blast research progress This book’s chapters are contributed by experts and pioneers in their respective fields and it provides comprehensive insight with updated findings on wheat blast research. It serves as a valuable reference for researchers, policy makers, students, teachers, farmers, seed growers, traders, and other stakeholders dealing with wheat.

Download or read book Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in the U S Winter Wheat written by Abdulrahman Hashimi and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the devastating wheat diseases worldwide. It reduces not only yield, but also grain quality due to mycotoxins produced by the pathogen Fusarium graminearum. To identify consistent quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for FHB resistance in two US winter wheat 'CI13227' and 'Lyman', we genotyped a double haploid (DH) population from '' x 'CI13227' X 'Lakin' using Illumina wheat 90K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips and two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations from 'Lyman'x 'Overley' and 'Lyman'x 'CI13227' using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and evaluated the three populations for FHB type II resistance in greenhouse and field experiments. QTL mapping identified four QTLs on chromosomes 4BS, 5AL, 2DS and 7A in the 'CI13227' x 'Lakin' population, which explained 8-17% of the phenotypic variation in different experiments. The QTL on 4BS from CI13227 showed the largest effect among QTLs detected in the 'CI13227' x 'Lakin' population and were consistently detected in three experiments. 'CI13227' contributed the resistance alleles at QTLs on 2DS and 7A, whereas 'Lakin' contributed the resistance allele at 5AL QTL. The 7A QTL was detected in only one experiment. The QTLs on the chromosomes 4B and 2D showed a high correlation with plant height, suggesting a linked genes or pleiotropic effect of these QTLs. In the 'Lyman'/'Overley' population, six QTLs were located on the chromosomes 1A, 2A, 3A, 1B, 2B and 4B, and explained 5.5 -21% of the phenotypic variations for type II resistance. The QTL on 3A from 'Lyman' showed the largest effects and detected in two greenhouses experiments. Significant correlation was not detected between the PSS and plant height in this population. In the 'Lyman'/'CI13227' population, four QTLs were detected with two QTLs on chromosomes 1A and 7A from 'CI13227' and chromosomes 2B and 3A from 'Lyman' and QTLs on 7A from 'CI13227' and 2B and 3A from 'Lyman' confirmed the results from the previous two populations. Markers for the repeatable QTLs were converted into Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers for marker-assisted breeding to pyramid these QTLs in U.S. winter wheat.

Download or read book Genetic Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Conditioning Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Hard Winter Wheat written by Umara Sahar Rana and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as 'scab', incited by Fusarium graminearum (Schw), is one of the most damaging fungal diseases in wheat. FHB reduces grain yield drastically, but also grain quality due to shriveled kernels, protein damage, and mycotoxin contamination caused by the fungal infection. Host plant resistance is the most effective and environmentally safe approach to combat this disease. To identify resistance genes from locally adapted cultivars, a population of 178 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from Overland × Everest was genotyped using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers derived from genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). The RIL population was phenotyped for resistance to the initial infection (type I), fungal spread within a spike (type II), mycotoxin (DON) accumulation in grains (type III) and Fusarium damaged kernel (type IV) in repeated greenhouse and field experiments. Seven QTLs were identified on chromosome arms 1AL, 3BL, 4BS, 4BL, 6AL, 6BL 7AS and 7BL for type I resistance. Hard winter wheat cultivar Everest contributes all the resistance alleles except two on chromosome arms 4BS and 6BL, which are contributed by hard winter wheat cultivar Overland. Six QTLs on chromosome regions of 1BL, 4A, 4BS, 5AL, 6BL and 7AS confer type II resistance with the resistance QTLs on 1BL, 4BS, 6BL and 7AS from Everest and on 4A, 4BS, and 5AL from Overland. The type II QTL on chromosome 4BS is overlapped with the reduced height gene Rht-B1. QTLs for type III resistance were mapped on 4BS and 5AL while QTLs for type IV resistance were mapped on chromosome 4BS, 5AL and 7AS and they overlapped with type II resistance in the corresponding chromosome regions. The haplotype analysis showed that genotypes containing multiple QTLs showed significantly higher resistance than those with fewer or no QTLs, indicating that these QTLs have additive effects on FHB resistance. Type I FHB resistance was poorly characterized in the literature. The current study demonstrated that Everest carries several QTLs for type I resistance, thus is a useful native source for type I resistance. Some SNP markers tightly linked with the QTLs for different types of resistance were successfully converted into Kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (KASP) assays and could be used in marker-assisted breeding for FHB resistance in wheat.

Download or read book Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat written by Carolyn Marie Bonin and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Analysis of Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight FHB in Winter Wheat and Evaluation of Genetics and Cultural Practices for FHB Mitigation written by Zesong Ye and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum is a fungal disease of wheat that can result in severe yield losses and contaminate grain with deoxynivalenol (DON). Wheat cultivars with different levels of FHB resistance were combined with fungicides application to control FHB. Results showed that foliar fungicide ProsaroTM combined with moderately resistant cultivars greatly reduced the risk of FHB. Integrating fungicide application with moderately resistant cultivars can be an effective strategy in controlling FHB. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to FHB related traits were analyzed using a double haploid population. Four QTL associated with FHB resistance was detected on chromosomes 2B, 2D, 4D and 7A. The QTL on chromosome 2B and 4D were found to reduce multiple FHB-related traits and were more frequently detected than QTL on chromosome 2D and 7A. QTL on chromosome 2B and 4D could be valuable for improving FHB resistance in wheat.

Download or read book Host Plant Resistance Genes to Fusarium Head Blight of Wheat written by Anju Gupta and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Identification and Deployment of QTL for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in U S Hard Winter Wheat written by Nosheen Fatima and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most damaging diseases in wheat, which impacts both grain yield and quality drastically. Recently, the disease has become more prevalent in the hard winter wheat (HWW) grown areas of the United States including Oklahoma where FHB has not been reported before. Growing resistant cultivars is the most economical and effective strategy for disease management. To dissect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for FHB resistance in a moderately resistant hard winter wheat (HWW) cultivar, Overland, a population of 186 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was developed from the cross between Overland and Overley, a susceptible HWW cultivar from Kansas. The RILs were evaluated for FHB type II resistance in one field and three greenhouse experiments and genotyped using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) markers. Three FHB resistance QTLs were mapped on Chromosomes 4DL, 4AL, and 5BL. The QTL on 4DL was the most consistent one and explained up to 13% of the phenotypic variation for type II resistance and 14 % for low Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK). Two GBS markers closely linked to the 4DL QTL were successfully converted to Kbioscience competitive allelic specific PCR (KASP) assays and can be used in marker-assisted breeding. In breeding, a single QTL may provide only partial resistance and pyramiding of several resistance QTLs in a cultivar can provide more protection in FHB epidemics. Fhb1 is a major QTL for FHB resistance from a Chinese source and Fhb3 is an alien gene from wild rye grass (Leymus racemosus). To study the effects of these QTLs individually and cumulatively in hard winter wheat backgrounds, they were transferred into two HWW cultivars Overland and Jagger. The results show that Fhb1 significantly increased FHB resistance, but Fhb3 did not. Thus, Fhb3 is not an effective gene for improvement of FHB resistance in HWW.

Download or read book Localization and Characterization of Quantitative Trait Loci for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Wheat by Means of Molecular Markers written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fusarium head blight (FHB) mapping population consisted of 180 F3 families developed from a cross between the variety "Apollo" (moderately susceptible) and the breeding line "Sgv. NB x MM. Sum3" (resistant). The FHB severity was evaluated in five locations. At the same time, two other traits namely, plant height and heading date were recorded to determine their correlation to FHB disease resistance. The map was constructed using the data of 227 molecular markers AFLP, RFLP and SSR on the 180 F3 families. The base map spans 1656,7 cM. The individual QTLs for FHB resistance, plant height and heading date were identified by the CIM analysis using the PLABQTL programe. Averaged over five different environments, four QTLs were detected for FHB resistance on 5AS, 3BS, 6BS and 7BS/5BL where they explained 37.0% of the phenotypic variance. In this study, three QTLs were detected for plant height on chromosomes 3BS, 6BS and 7BS/5BL. As for heading date, sixs QTLs were identified on chromosomes 3A, 6AL, 2BL, 4BL, 6BL and 7BS/5BL. The QTL on chromosome 7BS/5BL was located at a close support interval to the QTLs for shorter plant height, early heading date and higher FHB resistance. In the population under study, selection for FHB resistance genotypes can be done through marker-assisted selection (MAS) for the QTLs on the chromosomes 3BS, 5AL and 7BS/5BL.

Download or read book Genetic Mapping of QTL for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Winter Wheat Cultivars Art and Everest written by Marshall Clinesmith and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease, mostly commonly associated with F. graminearum, which affects cereal crops such as wheat resulting in substantial yield losses and reductions in grain quality. The onset of the disease can occur rapidly when warm, wet or humid weather coincides with flowering in the spring. The pathogen also produces mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) that accumulate in the grain and can be toxic to humans and animals. This results in additional economic losses as contaminated grain must be discarded or blended to reduce the amount of toxin in order to meet federal regulatory limits. Development and deployment of resistant cultivars has proved to be an effective method to combat the disease, and many resistant sources have been reported in the literature with the majority of major resistance coming from Chinese landraces. Transferring resistance from these sources into cultivars adapted to the U.S. has been a slow process due to linkage of FHB resistance genes with poor agronomic traits. Therefore, it is important for breeders to search for sources of resistance in native material adapted to their local conditions. In this study, we aimed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to spread of FHB within the head (Type II resistance), accumulation of DON toxin in grain (Type III resistance), and resistance to kernel infection (Type IV resistance). Plant material consisted of 148 doubled haploid (DH) lines from a cross between the two moderately resistant hard red winter wheat (HRWW) cultivars Art and Everest. The study was conducted for two years using a point inoculation technique in a greenhouse in Manhattan, KS. Three QTL conferring resistance to FHB traits were detected on chromosomes 2D, 4B, and 4D. The QTL on chromosomes 4B and 4D overlapped with the major height genes Rht1 and Rht2, respectively. Plant height has shown previous associations with FHB, though the underlying cause of these associations is not well understood. The majority of results have reported increased susceptibility associated with shorter plant types; however, in this study, the haplotype analysis for the Rht-B1 and Rht-D1 loci showed an association between the dwarfing alleles and increased resistance to FHB. This suggests either pleiotropic effects of these loci or perhaps linkage with nearby genes for FHB resistance. Markers close to the peaks of the FHB resistance QTL have the potential for Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) marker development and subsequent use in marker assisted selection (MAS) to help improve overall FHB resistance within breeding programs.

Download or read book Meta analysis of QTL for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Chinese Wheat Landraces Using Genotyping by Sequencing written by Jin Cai and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating fungal disease in wheat, reducing not only grain yield but also quality. The pathogen produces the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) that induces severe toxicological problems in human and animals. Using host resistance has been the most efficient way to control the disease. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for FHB resistance in Chinese landrace Haiyanzhong (HYZ), a recombinant inbred lines (RILs) population derived from a cross between HYZ and Wheaton was developed. The RILs were evaluated for percentage of symptomatic spikelets (PSS) in three greenhouse experiments, and genotyped using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) developed from genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Eight QTLs were identified for type II (PSS) resistance on chromosomes 5A, 6B, 7D, 2B (2), 3B, 4B, and 4D, with 5A as the major QTL. Ten SNPs closely linked to 5A, 6B, and 2B QTLs were successfully converted to Kompetitave allelic specific PCR (KASP) assays. To identify common QTLs across different populations, we constructed high-density GBS-SNP maps in an additional four RIL populations derived from the Chinese landraces, Wangshuibai (WSB), Baishanyuehuang (BSYH), Huangfangzhu (HFZ), and Huangchandou (HCD) and conducted meta-analysis of the QTLs for FHB resistance using a consensus map developed from the five populations. We identified six MQTLs on chromosomes 3BS (2), 3A, 3D, 2D, and 4D and 23 tightly linked GBS-SNPs to the MQTLs. These GBS-SNPs were successfully converted to KASPs. The KASPs linked to MQTLs can be used for pyramiding these QTL in breeding programs. To quickly reduce FHB damage in U.S. hard winter wheat (HWW), we transferred Fhb1, a major QTL with stable effects on FHB resistance, from Ning7840 into three adapted HWW cultivars Overland, Jagger, and Overley, by marker-assisted backcross (MAB), and assessed the effect of Fhb1 on FHB resistance in these different backgrounds. The results showed that Fhb1 can significantly lower FHB severity, Fusarium-damaged kernel (FDK), and DON accumulation in the all the three HWW backgrounds. Some of the selected lines showed high levels of FHB resistance, but agronomically similar traits as recurrent parents, can be used as resistant parents to improve HWW FHB resistance.

Download or read book Mitigation of Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat Caused by Fusarium Graminearum Through the Use of Host Resistance Genes and Biological Controls written by Gabrielle Nowakowski and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fungal pathogen, Fusarium graminearum, is a primary causal agent of the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) disease Fusarium head blight in North America. Heavy infection from this pathogen leads to economic losses due to a decrease in the quality and quantity of grain. Infection by F. graminearum also leads to accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin that produces harmful side effects to both humans and animals when ingested. Development of resistant wheat cultivars is needed to maintain a sustainable, safe, food supply. In this study, a double haploid population derived from a cross between two winter wheat cultivars, Flourish and Emerson, was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with FHB symptoms and DON accumulation in the grain. So far, there are no fully resistant cultivars of wheat to protect against FHB infection. Therefore, alternative methods need to be considered. A newly developed bio-fungicide containing a fungal antagonist to F. graminearum, Clonostachys rosea, was studied and compared to the commercially available fungicide, Caramba® (active ingredient, metconazole). These QTL were present on chromosomes 1B, 2B, 4D, 6D and 7A. Results from this study showed that there was some potential in using C. rosea in a bio-fungicide treatment plan. However, the fungi's sensitivity to environmental conditions may have contributed to poor and inconsistent control of F. graminearum in this study.

Download or read book Fusarium Head Blight of Wheat and Barley written by Kurt J. Leonard and published by American Phytopathological Society. This book was released on 2003 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book provides a comprehensive record of current knowledge on the nature of Fusarium head blight, the damage it causes, and current research on how to control it. The book begins with a historical account of Fusarium head blight epidemics that gives context to recent attempts to control epidemics in wheat and barley. A review of pathogen taxonomy and population biology helps scientists to see relationships among head blight pathogens and other Fusarium species. The information on epidemiology included in this review also provides an understanding of the weather conditions and cultural practices that promote explosive epidemics. New information on infection processes will lead the reader to a better understanding of how to breed for resistance in wheat and barley.

Download or read book The Global Fusarium Initiative for International Collaboration written by Tomohiro Ban and published by CIMMYT. This book was released on 2006 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Genome Wide Association Study for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Southern Soft Red Winter Wheat written by Amanda Leigh Holder and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease of small grains caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. FHB poses potential economic losses and health risks due to the accumulation of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) on infected seed heads. The objectives of this study are: 1) evaluate soft red winter wheat (SRWW) lines for resistance to FHB in terms of resistance to initial inoculum (incidence); resistance to spread within the head (severity); resistance to DON accumulation; and resistance to Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK), 2) determine the frequency and effect of known FHB resistance genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL), and 3) identify novel resistance loci using a genome wide association (GWA) approach. From 2014-2017, 360 SRWW breeding lines were evaluated in inoculated misted FHB nurseries in Fayetteville and Newport, AR and Winnsboro, LA (2017 only) in a randomized complete block design. At all locations, lines were sown in two row plots, inoculated with F. graminearum infected corn (Zea mays L.) and overhead misted throughout the months of April and May to provide optimal conditions for FHB infection. In addition to visual ratings and DON analysis, lines were screened with KASP® markers linked to known FHB resistance genes, including Fhb1. The known resistance QTL, Qfhb.nc-2B.1 (Bess), on chromosome 3B was significantly associated with a reduction in incidence, severity, and DON accumulation. Genome wide SNP markers generated through genotype by sequencing (GBS) were used to perform GWA in order to identify marker-trait associations for FHB resistance. The GWA analysis identified 58 highly significant SNPs associated with the four disease traits. The most highly significant SNP was found on chromosome 4A and the minor allele was found to significantly reduce incidence by 1.17%. Results from this study will facilitate the development of SRWW cultivars with improved resistance to FHB.

Download or read book Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Wheat Volume 1 written by Peter Langridge and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 686 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews advances in breeding techniques as well as their application to produce drought-resistant and other improved varieties. It also discusses wheat nutritional quality. Finally it reviews developments such as disease-resistant varieties and other techniques to combat pests and diseases.

Download or read book Identification of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance Genes in the Wheat QTL Fhb2 Using Forward and Reverse Genetics written by Dhananjay Dhokane and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat worldwide. FHB not only cause serious losses in yield but also significantly deteriorates the quality of grains by contaminating them with health hazardous mycotoxins. Plant resistance is considered as the most sustainable and effective strategy to manage FHB and to reduce the accumulation of mycotoxins. However, lack of effective and precise phenotyping methods and limited understanding of the genetics of FHB resistance has hindered the development of resistant cultivars. Resistance to FHB in wheat is quantitative; therefore more than 100 quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been identified and mapped on all chromosomes in wheat. QTL-Fhb2 is the second major QTL that confers high levels of resistance to the spread of Fusarium graminearum (Fg) within a spike through the rachis. However, the genes underlying the QTL and the mechanisms of resistance are still not elucidated.The phenotyping method was improved by developing a qPCR based protocol to precisely quantify the levels of FHB resistance among genotypes, including bleaching symptoms, following single floret inoculation under greenhouse conditions. We used Fg Tri6 gene specific primers to identify the copy number of Tri6 gene in the samples collected after Fg inoculation. The higher copy numbers of Tri6 correlates to higher Fg biomass and more the susceptibility of the genotype to FHB. Based on the protocol developed, we report that the qPCR based method is more sensitive and precise in discriminating genotypes varying in their levels to FHB resistance compared to disease severity analysis. Further, recombinant inbred lines (RILs), carrying resistant (R-RIL) and susceptible (S-RIL) alleles of QTL-Fhb2 were subjected to metabolome and transcriptome profiling following Fg and distilled water (mock) inoculation, to identify candidate genes localized within the QTL-Fhb2. Integrating metabolomic and transcriptomic datasets, we have identified six candidate genes localized within the QTL-Fhb2. The candidate genes localized within the QTL are, 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL), callose synthase (CS), basic Helix Loop Helix (bHLH041) transcription factor, glutathione S-transferase (GST), ABC transporter-4 (ABC4) and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD). Based on these findings, we report that the QTL-Fhb2 likely confers FHB resistance through combined effect of cell wall reinforcement and Deoxynivalenol (DON) detoxification.Furthermore, a Ta4CL3 gene localized within the QTL-Fhb2 was functionally characterized using virus induced gene silencing and the resistance functions were proven by analyzing disease severity, fungal biomass and metabolic profiles of silenced and non-silenced control plants. Taken together, we report that Ta4CL3 contributes to resistance against the spread of Fg within a spike likely by reinforcing the cell walls, through the deposition of hydroxycinnamic acid amides, lignin and lignans." --