Scientific question

Fungi of the genus Fusarium cause severe yield and quality losses. Certain species utilize protein translation inhibitors, such as the type B trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON), as virulence effectors. The function of DON in the pathogenesis of FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT on barley is debated and the general effects on protein abundances in plants are not understood.

Approach

In barley, highly susceptible cultivars respond to DON producers with a strong global gene expression response, however, it is not known whether the transcripts are effectively translated (unpublished preliminary work). We are using several Fusarium species and mutants that are differentially capable of DON production, as well as a non-specific Fusarium elizitor for comparative transcriptome, proteome (collaboration: Ludwig, Küster, Pauling) and metabolome (collaboration: Dawid) analyses.

Expected results

We expect plant and fungal genotype-dependent patterns in the -omics data that may explain the function of DON in barley. Multi-omics integration (collaboration: Wilhelm) identifies DON-sensitive defense pathways. Collaboration with Claus Schwechheimer advances understanding of the effects of Fusarium fungi on barley seed germination (preliminary work: Linkmeyer et al. 2013 Phytopathol.; Hückelhoven et al. 2018 JPDP; Coleman et al. 2021 New Phytol.; Hoheneder et al. unpublished).