Induction of wheat defense and stress-related genes in response to Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by species of the fungus Fusarium, is a worldwide disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The Chinese T. aestivum 'Ning7840' is one of few wheat cultivars with resistance to FHB. To identify differentially expressed genes corresponding to FHB resistance, a cDNA library was constructed using pooled mRNA isolated from glumes of 'Ning7840' harvested at 2, 6, 12, 24, 36, 72, and 96 h after inoculation (hai) with a conidia spore suspension of Fusarium graminearum. Suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA subtraction was carried out using pooled glume mRNAs from the tester and the control. The cDNA library was differentially screened using the forward subtracted cDNAs and the reverse subtracted cDNAs as probes. Twenty-four clones with significant matches to either plant (16 sequences) or fungal (8 sequences) genes were isolated based on their specific hybridization with forward subtracted cDNA and not reverse subtracted cDNA. Six putative defense-related genes were confirmed by real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR. Many-fold higher induction of three clones (A3F8, B10H1, and B11H3) in the resistant genotypes compared with susceptible genotypes indicates a putative role in the resistance response to Fusarium graminearum. Transcript accumulations of P450, chitinase (Chi1), and one unknown gene (clone B8Q9) in both resistant and susceptible genotypes suggest an involvement in a generalized resistance response to F. graminearum. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that cDNA clone A4C6 encodes a cytochrome P450 gene (CYP709C3v2), including 14 N-terminal amino acids that have a membrane-associated helical motif. Other domains characteristic of eukaryotic P450 are also present in CYP709C3v2. The deduced polypeptide of cDNA clone B2H2 encodes an acidic isoform of class I chitinase containing a 960-bp coding region. Southern hybridization using aneuploid lines of T. aestivum 'Chinese Spring' indicated that CYP709C3v2 was located on the short arm of chromosomes 2B and 2D.