Chemical Activation of the Ethylene Signaling Pathway Promotes Fusarium graminearum Resistance in Detached Wheat Heads.

Plant signaling hormones such as ethylene have been shown to affect the host response to various pathogens. Often, the resistance responses to necrotrophic fungi are mediated through synergistic interactions of ethylene (ET) with the jasmonate signaling pathway. On the other hand, ET is also an inducer of senescence and cell death, which could be beneficial for some invading necrotrophic pathogens. Fusarium graminearum, a causative agent in Fusarium head blight of wheat, is a hemibiotrophic pathogen, meaning it has both biotrophic and necrotrophic phases during the course of infection. However, the role of ET signaling in the host response to Fusarium spp. is unclear; some studies indicate that ET mediates resistance, while others have shown that it is associated with susceptibility. These discrepancies could be related to various aspects of different experimental designs, and suggest that the role of ET signaling in the host response to FHB is potentially dependent on interactions with some undetermined factors. To investigate whether wheat genotype can influence the ET-mediated response to FHB, the effect of chemical treatments affecting the ET pathway was studied in six wheat genotypes in detached-head assays. ET-inhibitor treatments broke down resistance to both initial infection and disease spread in three resistant wheat genotypes, whereas ET-enhancer treatments resulted in reduced susceptibility in three susceptible genotypes. The results presented here show that the ET signaling can mediate FHB resistance to F. graminearum in different wheat backgrounds.

Trichostatin A increases embryo and green plant regeneration in wheat.

KEY MESSAGE: Chemical agents such as trichostatin A (TSA) can assist in optimization of doubled haploidy for rapid improvements in wheat germplasm and addressing recalcitrance issues in cell culture responses. In wheat, plant regeneration through microspore culture is an integral part of doubled haploid (DH) production. However, low response to tissue culture and genotype specificity are two major constraints in the broad deployment of this breeding tool. Recently, the structure of chromatin was shown to be linked with cell transitions during tissue culture. Specifically, repression of genes that are required for cell morphogenesis, through acetylation of histones, may play an important role in this process. Reduction of histone acetylation by chemical inhibition may increase tissue culture efficiency. Here, the role of trichostatin A (TSA) in inducing microspore-derived embryos was investigated in wheat. The optimal dose of TSA was determined for wheat cultivars and subsequently validated in F1 hybrids. A significant increase in the efficiency of DH production was observed in both cultivated varieties and F1 hybrids. Thus, the inclusion of TSA in DH protocols for wheat breeding programs is advocated.