PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • June 27th, 2022
Over the past few years there has been increasing interest from the Fusarium community to establish a centralized wheat transformation facility to minimize cost and duplication. The overall goal of this proposal is the formal establishment of such a centralized wheat transformation center and to provide a no-cost transformation service to the FHB research community. Under this proposal researchers would submit their requests for wheat transformation and provide the appropriate expression vectors along with primer information to detect their gene(s) of interest. The facility will provide consultation to individual researchers on vector design, if requested. The facility would introduce their traits into tissue competent cultivars, regenerate transgenic lines, and screen putative events for the selectable marker and gene of interest. The customer would be provided by the facility DNA samples of primary transgenic events and T1 generation seeds approximately ten events. In addition to tra
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • April 14th, 2020
In Pennsylvania, winter wheat is produced on approximately 150,000 to 200,000 acres, with yields of 65 bu/ac, on average, providing $40,000,000 to $70,000,000 to the local economy annually. In 2018 and 2019, Pennsylvania experienced favorable conditions for Fusarium head blight (FHB) and results from our trials in these years indicated a difference from 10-20 bushels per acre with well-timed fungicide applications, as well as a reduction in deoxynivalenol levels. Nonetheless, questions remain regarding the efficacy of foliar fungicides in an integrated program, as many producers in PA apply fungicides based on growth stage without necessarily quantifying the agronomic, biological or economic efficacy of those applications. Continued research, as part of the Integrated Management (IM)-Coordinated Project and the Uniform Fungicide Trial (UFT) Project, will help provide important local data to quantify efficacy and improve management recommendations for control of FHB, as well as contribu
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • February 19th, 2015
This project addresses a disease of importance nationally and internationally which is likely to become an increasing problem for growers in Idaho and some areas in Pacific Northwest (PNW) because of the increasing corn production, reduced tillage, and changing climate. Currently, most virtually grown cultivars in Idaho and PNW are susceptible to FHB and often produced high levels of DON toxin in past years. Developing FHB resistance in Idaho and PNW wheat cultivars will reduce or eliminate future costs of disease control using fungicides, and help growers and industry reduce yield and quality losses when epidemic occurs.
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • February 19th, 2015
Ten years ago, the incidence of FHB in the irrigated west was regarded as a minor and relatively rare occurrence. With the substantial increase in corn acreage directly due to the increase in the dairy industry, and with substantial changes in irrigation practices, FHB has become a regularly occurring problem with economically significant impacts on small grain producers. There is a need to determine host resistance levels in wheat and barley varieties released for the arid irrigated production areas of the PNW that have been selected without the need to screen for FHB disease reaction. Unacceptable levels of DON toxin have been found consistently in irrigated wheat and barley in areas of the PNW in the past five years. While detectable levels of DON have been found in barley, the concentration has not been above 0.5 PPM. However, levels in wheat and durum have regularly been above 1 PPM, and levels in durum have been recorded as high as 23 PPM DON. Corn debris, where high levels of Fu
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • June 3rd, 2024
Project Goals: The long-term goal of research in the PI’s group is to develop alternative strategies for controlling FHB and mycotoxin accumulation that complement existing control measures in wheat and barley. While breeding efforts target host genes to enhance resistance, host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) provides a parallel in planta strategy to silence expression of fungal genes to control infection and toxin accumulation. The goal of the proposed work is to test the hypothesis that HIGS of Fusarium graminearum effector-encoding genes, which are required for virulence, will adversely impact pathogenicity and thus promote resistance against F. graminearum. Two secretory protein-encoding genes will be targeted; (i) FGL1, which encodes a lipase that is required for spread of the infection on wheat, and (ii) FgNahG, which encodes an enzyme that is predicted to breakdown the defense signaling metabolite salicylic acid. The specific objectives of the project are to:
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • April 8th, 2020
South Dakota is the primary state in the US Great Plains hard winter wheat region that is threatened by Fusarium head blight (FHB), a destructive disease with losses to the tune of $20 million in some years. Through years of breeding efforts, we have exploited native resistance to develop moderately FHB resistant varieties like Lyman, Overland, and Redfield, however, these varieties provide limited protection and are becoming susceptible to other diseases. The proposed research project directly fits with the objectives of the HWW-CP.
2 3 ARS Agreement Draft #6 E.C. December 21, 1995Ars Agreement • December 23rd, 1997 • Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc • Michigan
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • June 13th, 2017
As interest in barley production in the MidAtlantic and Northeast US increases, maltsters, brewers, and distillers face the growing challenge of sourcing high-quality, disease and toxin-free grain locally. In response, growers are demanding new management approaches for Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and toxin reduction. While studies have shown an approach combining the use of resistant varieties, fungicides and residue management will be valuable in answering the problem, more information is needed in order to determine the most economical and effective combinations of approaches and their practicality.
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • March 26th, 2013
The long-term goal of this collaborative project is to enhance Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in wheat. With previous support from the USWBSI we have utilized Arabidopsis thaliana to identify plant genes that are involved in plant defense and susceptibility to F. graminearum. In addition, we have identified a microbial elicitor and a plant-derived diterpenoid that enhance resistance against F. graminearum. We propose to utilize these activators and defense/susceptibility genes to enhance FHB resistance in wheat. Three strategies will be utilized: (i) The ectopic expression of defense regulatory genes, (ii) targeting non-host resistance mechanism, and (iii) reducing the level of host susceptibility factors.
PROJECT 2 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • April 8th, 2020
Project Goals: The goal of this project is to identify native wheat gene variants that improve FHB resistance and reduce DON accumulation. Wheat genes that contribute to susceptibility by facilitating fungal growth, development and virulence provide excellent targets for controlling disease. With previous support from the USWBSI, the PI’s lab identified wheat 9-lipoxygenases
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • April 1st, 2020
Project Goals: The long-term goal of the PI’s research is to develop strategies for controlling FHB and mycotoxin accumulation that complement existing control measures in wheat and barley. While breeding efforts target host genes to enhance resistance, host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) provides an in planta strategy to silence expression of fungal genes to control infection and toxin accumulation. The goal of the proposed work is to test the hypothesis that HIGS of Fusarium graminearum effector genes, which are required for virulence, will adversely impact pathogenicity and thus promote FHB resistance in wheat. The efficacy of this approach to promote resistance against F. graminearum has been validated in Arabidopsis thaliana. Two fungal virulence factor-encoding genes will be targeted for HIGS in wheat: (i) FGL1, which encodes a lipase that is required for spread of the infection, and (ii) FgNahG, which encodes a hydroxylase that metabolizes the plant defense signaling metabolite s
PROJECT 2 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • March 12th, 2014
Genomic selection (GS) is a promising new approach to marker assisted selection that uses large DNA marker and trait data sets to calibrate models that are used to predict the performance of breeding lines that have not undergone phenotypic evaluation. GS predicted genetic values of breeding lines can be used to select parents in early generations substantially shortening the breeding cycle from the four years that it typically takes with phenotypic selection to a single year. Given the relatively low heritability of FHB severity and DON concentration and the high cost of phenotyping these and other important traits, GS should be useful to accelerate efforts to breed resistance to FHB. The overall goal of this project will be to conduct two cycles of GS within the two year funding cycle to generate breeding lines that will be available for testing in the springs of 2015 and 2016. The major tasks to be carried out will be crossing of selected parents, advancing populations to the F2 and
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • October 2nd, 2018
FHB has become more problematic in durum in North Dakota because of environmental conditions that favor its development being more common in the northwestern portion of the state where durum production is currently most important. Controlling FHB is challenging and requires an integrated approach. Some of the new durum varieties have improved FHB resistance, though not at the same level as that incorporated into some of the spring wheat varieties. These newer varieties have not yet been widely adopted. In the last few years, DON has been widely reported in durum in North Dakota. Furthermore, though fungicides have been registered that provide some level of control of FHB in durum, most growers have limited experience with their use. The integration of resistant varieties and fungicides may provide the desired level of FHB control, particularly in years of high disease pressure. Farmers need to good data to help them adopt improved FHB management practices. Information is needed to help
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • March 15th, 2016
There is a need for new varieties that are agronomically competitive, have acceptable malting quality, improved resistance to FHB, and lower DON. The levels of resistance have improved steadily in advanced breeding lines in our program and the variety Quest with lower DON is available to growers. However, higher levels of resistance in high yielding lines are needed to reduce the overall risk of FHB to barley in the U.S. Increased need by industry for two-rowed barley will require additional breeding effort. Breeding to enhance resistance to FHB has resulted in steady progress. Many current breeding lines in our program exhibit modest levels of resistance ~50 % (or less) levels of DON compared to Robust. These lines trace back to multiple exotic sources of resistance and crossing among them should provide continued improvement in disease resistance. We have recently adopted genomic selection to select lines in early generations (F2, F3) based on predictions for DON, yield and some qual
PROJECT 2 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • November 23rd, 2022
Project Goals: The long-term goal of this project is to identify native wheat gene variants that improve FHB resistance and/or reduce DON accumulation. Wheat genes that facilitate fungal growth, development and virulence provide excellent targets for controlling disease. With previous support from the USWBSI, the PI’s lab has identified 9-lipoxygenases (9-LOXs) as susceptibility factors, which when knocked down by RNA-interference (RNAi) technology in the hexaploid wheat cv Bobwhite, enhance FHB resistance. Resistance in the Lpx3-RNAi lines was characterized by lack of spread of infection from the inoculated spikelet. The goals of the proposed work are to establish whether (i) the FHB resistance promoting effect of Lpx3 knockdown is also effective in wheat backgrounds other than Bobwhite, (ii) one or more Lpx3 homeolog(s) in wheat contribute towards susceptibility to Fusarium graminearum, and (iii) nonsense and/or missense Lpx3 variants can provide a non-GMO strategy that in the future
PROJECT 1 ABSTRACTArs Agreement • June 1st, 2020
The NABSEN nursery has provided breeders with excellent head to head data on the level of FHB resistance exhibited by the most advanced lines from breeding programs around the region and should be continued. Results need to be placed in a better format. Electronic data source (csv, excel files) need to be made available on the USWBSI website. In the future, we need to establish a similar nursery for the western states and for winter barley. We will be screening 250 new training populations lines and lines from USDA Idaho.
