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Influence of Fusarium isolates on the expression of barley genes related to plant defense and malting quality

Authors :
Alexander D. Coleman
Katharina Hofer
Constanze König
Ralph Hückelhoven
Michael Heß
Martina Gastl
Cajetan Geißinger
Source :
Journal of Cereal Science. 69:17-24
Publication Year :
2016
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2016.

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a significant fungal disease of barley implicated in various brewing-related disorders and could further influence the expression of genes related to malting quality. The aim of our research was to improve understanding of barley gene regulation in FHB-infected grain over time, starting from the onset of infection on flowering spikes, right up to preparation of finished malt. Two two-rowed spring barley varieties (Grace and Scarlett) were infected with species-specific spore suspensions of Fusarium culmorum , Fusarium avenaceum , Fusarium langsethiae , or Fusarium sporotrichioides under greenhouse conditions. We selected a subset of barley gene candidates related to plant defense and to malting quality traits for our gene expression analyses. We further complemented this by measuring the Fusarium DNA content in the same samples. Our work demonstrates that gene expression is indeed altered by Fusarium infection both before harvest and during malting. This includes increased expression of plant defense genes and differential expression of malting-related genes, in particular the two β -amylase genes, α-amylase and α-amylase/trypsin inhibitor. This research increases the understanding of transcriptional changes in barley grain in response to different Fusarium species and emphasizes the importance of Fusarium control before harvest for securing high quality malt.

Details

ISSN :
07335210
Volume :
69
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Cereal Science
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........a667e882d79089b40dbea3b93b1ab0f0
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2016.02.005