Horizontal gene transfer of Fhb7 from fungus underlies Fusarium head blight resistance in wheat

Authors

• Hongwei Wang, Shandong Agricultural UniversityFollow
• Silong Sun, Shandong Agricultural University
• Wenyang Ge, Shandong Agricultural University
• Lanfei Zhao, Shandong Agricultural University
• Bingqian Hou, Shandong Agricultural University
• Kai Wang, Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing
• Zhongfan Lyu, Shandong Agricultural University
• Liyang Chen, Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing
• Shoushen Xu, Shandong Agricultural University
• Jun Guo, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences
• Min Li, Shandong Agricultural University
• Peisen Su, Shandong Agricultural University
• Xuefeng Li, Shandong Agricultural University
• Guiping Wang, Shandong Agricultural University
• Cunyao Bo, Shandong Agricultural University
• Xiaojian Fang, Shandong Agricultural University
• Wenwen Zhuang, Shandong Agricultural University
• Xinxin Cheng, Shandong Agricultural University
• Jianwen Wu, Shandong Agricultural University
• Luhao Dong, Shandong Agricultural University
• Wuying Chen, Shandong Agricultural University
• Wen Li, Shandong Agricultural University
• Guilian Xiao, Shandong Agricultural University
• Jinxiao Zhao, Shandong Agricultural University
• Yongchao Hao, Shandong Agricultural University
• Ying Xu, Shandong Agricultural University
• Yu Gao, Shandong Agricultural University
• Wenjing Liu, Shandong Agricultural University
• Yanhe Liu, Shandong Agricultural University
• Huayan Yin, Shandong Agricultural University
• Jiazhu Li, Yantai University, Yantai
• Xiang Li, Shandong Agricultural University
• Yan Zhao, Shandong Agricultural University
• Xiaoqian Wang, Shandong Agricultural University
• Fei Ni, Shandong Agricultural University
• Xin Ma, Shandong Agricultural University
• Anfei Li, Shandong Agricultural University
• Steven S. Xu, USDA-ARS, Cereal Crops Research Unit
• Guihua Bai, USDA-ARS, Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research UnitFollow
• Eviatar Nevo, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel
• Caixia Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Herbert Ohm, Purdue University, West Lafayette
• Lingrang Kong, Shandong Agricultural UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

5-22-2020

Citation

U.S. government works are not subject to copyright.

Comments

Wang et al., Science 368, eaba5435 (2020) 22 May 2020

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB), a fungal disease caused by Fusarium species that produce food toxins, currently devastates wheat production worldwide, yet few resistance resources have been discovered in wheat germplasm. Here, we cloned the FHB resistance gene Fhb7 by assembling the genome of Thinopyrum elongatum, a species used in wheat distant hybridization breeding. Fhb7 encodes a glutathione S-transferase (GST) and confers broad resistance to Fusarium species by detoxifying trichothecenes through de-epoxidation. Fhb7 GST homologs are absent in plants, and our evidence supports that Th. elongatum has gained Fhb7 through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from an endophytic Epichloë species. Fhb7 introgressions in wheat confers resistance to both FHB and crown rot in diverse wheat backgrounds without yield penalty, providing a solution for Fusarium resistance breeding.