Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum

Abstract Background Fusarium culmorum is an important pathogen causing head blight of cereals in Europe. This disease is of worldwide importance leading to reduced yield, grain quality, and contamination by mycotoxins. These mycotoxins are harmful for livestock and humans; therefore, many countries...

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Main Authors: Thomas Miedaner, Andrea Vasquez, Valheria Castiblanco, Hilda Elena Castillo, Nora Foroud, Tobias Würschum, Willmar Leiser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2021-08-01
Series:BMC Genomics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-021-07931-5
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author Thomas Miedaner
Andrea Vasquez
Valheria Castiblanco
Hilda Elena Castillo
Nora Foroud
Tobias Würschum
Willmar Leiser
author_facet Thomas Miedaner
Andrea Vasquez
Valheria Castiblanco
Hilda Elena Castillo
Nora Foroud
Tobias Würschum
Willmar Leiser
author_sort Thomas Miedaner
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Fusarium culmorum is an important pathogen causing head blight of cereals in Europe. This disease is of worldwide importance leading to reduced yield, grain quality, and contamination by mycotoxins. These mycotoxins are harmful for livestock and humans; therefore, many countries have strict regulatory limits for raw materials and processed food. Extensive genetic diversity is described among field populations of F. culmorum isolates for aggressiveness and production of the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). However, the causes for this quantitative variation are not clear, yet. We analyzed 92 isolates sampled from different field populations in Germany, Russia, and Syria together with an international collection for aggressiveness and DON production in replicated field experiments at two locations in two years with two hosts, wheat and rye. The 30x coverage whole-genome resequencing of all isolates resulted in the identification of 130,389 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were used for the first genome-wide association study in this phytopathogenic fungus. Results In wheat, 20 and 27 SNPs were detected for aggressiveness and DON content, respectively, of which 10 overlapped. Additionally, two different SNPs were significantly associated with aggressiveness in rye that were among those SNPs being associated with DON production in wheat. Most of the SNPs explained only a small proportion of genotypic variance (p G ), however, four SNPs were associated with major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with p G ranging from 12 to 48%. The QTL with the highest p G was involved in DON production and associated with a SNP most probably located within the Tri4 gene. Conclusions The diversity of 92 isolates of F. culmorum were captured using a heuristic approach. Key phenotypic traits, SNPs, and candidate genes underlying aggressiveness and DON production were identified. Clearly, many QTLs are responsible for aggressiveness and DON content in wheat, both traits following a quantitative inheritance. Several SNPs involved in DON metabolism, among them the Tri4 gene of the trichothecene pathway, were inferred as important source of variation in fungal aggressiveness. Using this information underlying the phenotypic variation will be of paramount importance in evaluating strategies for successful resistance breeding.
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spelling doaj.art-d836c5e01bee49cba7da1cc439cfe3162022-12-21T18:52:55ZengBMCBMC Genomics1471-21642021-08-0122111610.1186/s12864-021-07931-5Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorumThomas Miedaner0Andrea Vasquez1Valheria Castiblanco2Hilda Elena Castillo3Nora Foroud4Tobias Würschum5Willmar Leiser6University of Hohenheim, State Plant Breeding InstituteUniversity of Hohenheim, State Plant Breeding InstituteUniversity of Hohenheim, State Plant Breeding InstituteUniversity of Hohenheim, State Plant Breeding InstituteAgriculture and Agrifood Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development CenterInstitute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics, University of HohenheimUniversity of Hohenheim, State Plant Breeding InstituteAbstract Background Fusarium culmorum is an important pathogen causing head blight of cereals in Europe. This disease is of worldwide importance leading to reduced yield, grain quality, and contamination by mycotoxins. These mycotoxins are harmful for livestock and humans; therefore, many countries have strict regulatory limits for raw materials and processed food. Extensive genetic diversity is described among field populations of F. culmorum isolates for aggressiveness and production of the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). However, the causes for this quantitative variation are not clear, yet. We analyzed 92 isolates sampled from different field populations in Germany, Russia, and Syria together with an international collection for aggressiveness and DON production in replicated field experiments at two locations in two years with two hosts, wheat and rye. The 30x coverage whole-genome resequencing of all isolates resulted in the identification of 130,389 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were used for the first genome-wide association study in this phytopathogenic fungus. Results In wheat, 20 and 27 SNPs were detected for aggressiveness and DON content, respectively, of which 10 overlapped. Additionally, two different SNPs were significantly associated with aggressiveness in rye that were among those SNPs being associated with DON production in wheat. Most of the SNPs explained only a small proportion of genotypic variance (p G ), however, four SNPs were associated with major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with p G ranging from 12 to 48%. The QTL with the highest p G was involved in DON production and associated with a SNP most probably located within the Tri4 gene. Conclusions The diversity of 92 isolates of F. culmorum were captured using a heuristic approach. Key phenotypic traits, SNPs, and candidate genes underlying aggressiveness and DON production were identified. Clearly, many QTLs are responsible for aggressiveness and DON content in wheat, both traits following a quantitative inheritance. Several SNPs involved in DON metabolism, among them the Tri4 gene of the trichothecene pathway, were inferred as important source of variation in fungal aggressiveness. Using this information underlying the phenotypic variation will be of paramount importance in evaluating strategies for successful resistance breeding.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-021-07931-5Fusarium culmorumFusarium head blightGWASMycotoxinsTrichothecenesTri genes
spellingShingle Thomas Miedaner
Andrea Vasquez
Valheria Castiblanco
Hilda Elena Castillo
Nora Foroud
Tobias Würschum
Willmar Leiser
Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum
BMC Genomics
Fusarium culmorum
Fusarium head blight
GWAS
Mycotoxins
Trichothecenes
Tri genes
title Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum
title_full Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum
title_fullStr Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum
title_full_unstemmed Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum
title_short Genome-wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of Fusarium culmorum
title_sort genome wide association study for deoxynivalenol production and aggressiveness in wheat and rye head blight by resequencing 92 isolates of fusarium culmorum
topic Fusarium culmorum
Fusarium head blight
GWAS
Mycotoxins
Trichothecenes
Tri genes
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-021-07931-5
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