Poster
Reynaldi Darma
Postdoctoral research scientist
Rothamsted Research
Harpenden, England, United Kingdom
Martin Darino, PhD
Postdoctoral researcher
Rothamsted Research
HARPENDEN, England, United Kingdom
Namrata Jaiswal
Research Molecular Biologist
Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, USDA-ARS
West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Erika Kroll
Rothamsted Research
Harpenden, England, United Kingdom
Martin Urban
Rothamsted Research
Harpenden, England, United Kingdom
Youhuang Xiang
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Indiana University Bloomington
Bloomington, IN, USA
Steven R. Scofield
Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, USDA-ARS
West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Roger W. Innes, PhD (he/him/his)
Distinguished Professor
Indiana University Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Matthew Helm
Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, USDA-ARS
West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Kim E. Hammond-Kosack
Discovery leader
Rothamsted Research
Harpenden, England, United Kingdom
Fusarium graminearum (Fg) causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease in wheat leading to millions of dollars in losses. Understanding Fg-wheat interactions during Fg pathogenesis is crucial for designing effective FHB disease control strategies. Recent studies reveal that secreted proteases play a crucial role in the virulence of various fungal pathogens, but Fg secreted proteases have not been well-characterised so far. Analysing RNA-seq dataset of Fg at different in planta growth stages revealed that multiple proteases are highly expressed during wheat spike colonisation. One is a serine protease, FgTPP1, which was confirmed to be secreted using a yeast secretion assay. The role of FgTPP1 in Fg virulence was analysed using ΔFgtpp1 mutants. These mutants exhibited reduced virulence compared to the Fg wild-type strain in the bottom infection spike assay. Additionally, the ability of FgTPP1 to manipulate plant immunity was tested by transiently expressing FgTPP1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. In this system, FgTPP1 suppressed the reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst induced by chitin and reduced the plant cell death caused by an autoactive disease resistance protein. Currently, the secretion of FgTPP1 during wheat infection is being analysed to confirm that FgTPP1 is indeed involved during wheat colonisation. Furthermore, other differentially expressed Fg proteases during in planta growth are being characterised to define their overall roles in spike colonisation.