Resistance responses triggered by Fusarium crown rot in wheat

Fusarium diseases of cereals constitute economically significant constraints in cereal production systems. In this study, transcriptomic analysis using RNA-seq is combined with metabolite analysis to provide novel insights into the interaction between bread wheat and Fusarium pseudograminearum, the predominant causal agent of Fusarium crown rot.

Powell et al. show that wheat responds to infection by producing a barrage of secondary metabolites involved in plant defence and enzymes that may function in detoxifying Fusarium virulence factors such as deoxynivalenol. The discoveries presented here will aid future efforts to improve resistance in cereals against Fusarium pathogens.

This paper is part of the Annals of Botany Special Issue on Plant Immunity. It will be free access till June 2017 and after April 2018.