Fusarium head blight (FHB), a fungal disease caused principally by Fusarium graminearum, and barley yellow dwarf (BYD) caused by BYD luteoviruses are two serious fungal and viral diseases of wheat resulting in high economic losses annually. Wuhan, a Chinese wheat cultivar resistant to FHB, and Maringa, a Brazilian cultivar tolerant to BYDV were inter-crossed and crossed with Roblin, a Canada western red spring wheat susceptible to both FHB and BYDV, to determine the genetic basis of resistance/tolerance and to combine the two traits. Four hundred ninety nine F1-derived doubled haploid (DH) lines were generated from reciprocal crosses using corn pollen-mediated DH technology. The DH lines and the parents were evaluated for disease symptoms, reduction in height and spike mass for BYD and for disease incidence, disease severity and Fusarium-damaged kernels for FHB in field and controlled environments. A subset (20/150) of the best performing DH lines from Wuhan/Maringa populations for both BYD and FHB were further evaluated. Plants were point inoculated with F. graminearum in greenhouse experiments, and macroconidial spray inoculations and spread of corn inoculum were used in field environments to evaluate FHB. BYDV inoculations were performed by placing ten to fifteen viruliferous aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi infected with BYDV-PAV isolate 9301PAV), at the one to two leaf stage for both greenhouse and field trials. The studies showed that both FHB and BYDV are quantitatively inherited. Transgressive segregants were observed and the broad sense heritability was high (0.90 to 0.97) for all traits evaluated. Results from independent testing of diseases on Wuhan/ Maringa populations showed fourteen DH lines were as, or more resistant than Wuhan for FHB and Maringa for BYDV tolerance and have combined both BYDV tolerance and FHB resistance. Identifying such lines facilitates the pyramiding of independent genes to obtain adequate levels of enduring resistance. A further experiment was conducted on the 14 lines by inoculating them with BYDV and F. graminearum successively on the same plant. Six out of 14 selected DH lines demonstrated high resistance to FHB and tolerance to BYDV. These six lines can be used in FHB/BYDV resistance/tolerance breeding programs.

Fusarium graminearum causes Fusarium Head Blight, (one of) the most destructive cereal diseases in Canada. Yield loss, quality degradation and mycotoxin production make Fusarium a multifaceted threat. Regulated production of reactive oxygen species by Nox enzymes is indispensable for fungal pathogenesis. F. graminearum Nox mutant ∆noxAB produced equivalent mycotoxin but caused reduced virulence than wild-type. We hypothesized that Nox mediated redox signaling may participate in F. graminearum pathogenicity. Two-DE and gel-free biotin affinity chromatography, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis were employed for a comparative redox-proteomics analysis between wild-type and ∆noxAB to identify proteins oxidized by Nox activity. Total 35 proteins, 10 by 2-DE and 29 by gel-free system, were identified. 34% proteins participated in fungal metabolism, 20% in electron transfer reactions and 9% were anti-oxidant proteins. The findings suggested that Nox mediated thiol-disulfide exchange in proteins provide a switch for redox-dependent regulation of metabolic and developmental processes during induction of FHB.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), a fungal disease caused principally by Fusarium graminearum, and barley yellow dwarf (BYD) caused by BYD luteoviruses are two serious fungal and viral diseases of wheat resulting in high economic losses annually. Wuhan, a Chinese wheat cultivar resistant to FHB, and Maringa, a Brazilian cultivar tolerant to BYDV were inter-crossed and crossed with Roblin, a Canada western red spring wheat susceptible to both FHB and BYDV, to determine the genetic basis of resistance/tolerance and to combine the two traits. Four hundred ninety nine F1-derived doubled haploid (DH) lines were generated from reciprocal crosses using corn pollen-mediated DH technology. The DH lines and the parents were evaluated for disease symptoms, reduction in height and spike mass for BYD and for disease incidence, disease severity and Fusarium-damaged kernels for FHB in field and controlled environments. A subset (20/150) of the best performing DH lines from Wuhan/Maringa populations for both BYD and FHB were further evaluated. Plants were point inoculated with F. graminearum in greenhouse experiments, and macroconidial spray inoculations and spread of corn inoculum were used in field environments to evaluate FHB. BYDV inoculations were performed by placing ten to fifteen viruliferous aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi infected with BYDV-PAV isolate 9301PAV), at the one to two leaf stage for both greenhouse and field trials. The studies showed that both FHB and BYDV are quantitatively inherited. Transgressive segregants were observed and the broad sense heritability was high (0.90 to 0.97) for all traits evaluated. Results from independent testing of diseases on Wuhan/ Maringa populations showed fourteen DH lines were as, or more resistant than Wuhan for FHB and Maringa for BYDV tolerance and have combined both BYDV tolerance and FHB resistance. Identifying such lines facilitates the pyramiding of independent genes to obtain adequate levels of enduring resistance. A further experiment was conducted on the 14 lines by inoculating them with BYDV and F. graminearum successively on the same plant. Six out of 14 selected DH lines demonstrated high resistance to FHB and tolerance to BYDV. These six lines can be used in FHB/BYDV resistance/tolerance breeding programs.

Several Fusarium species can cause Fusarium head blight (FHB) and Fusarium crown rot (FCR) diseases in wheat and these are of economic importance in wheat production systems globally. Fusarium graminearum represents a model pathogen species to study these diseases because it has a sequenced genome, commercially available gene expression arrays and an growing collection of mutants impaired in pathogenicity and virulence, at least for FHB. FCR occurs at the stem base of the wheat plant, causing major reductions in grain yield. FCR has been much less intensively researched than FHB and the infection process of F. graminearum during crown rot disease in wheat has not been studied previously at the molecular level. Fungal biomass estimations by real-time quantitative PCR analysis of DNA from inoculated plants identified three distinct phases of infection during FCR, an initial increase in fungal mass in phase 1 up to 2 days post inoculation (dpi), then a reduction during phase 2 until 14 dpi followed by a large increase thereon in phase 3 that corresponded to symptom development. Histological characterisation of F. graminearum colonisation during these three phases of infection showed that initially the spores germinated on the stem surface at the point of inoculation forming a superficial hyphal mat. This occurred within the first two days of infection. The second phase was characterised by a period of low amounts of fungal tissue present in the infected plants and 14 days following infection hyphae were only observed below the point of inoculation at the stem base of the wheat seedling and had penetrated and colonised the adaxial epidermis of the outer leaf sheath. Following this, the third phase was characterised by a major colonisation of the internal tissues of the crown which corresponded to visible symptom development around 35 days after inoculation. Fungal gene expression during all three phases of infection were examined using the Affymetrix GeneChip system comprised of 22,000 F. graminearum gene probe sets. This analysis showed 1,839 genes were significantly up regulated in planta compared to axenic vegetative mycelia, including some known FHB virulence genes (e.g. those involved in the biosynthesis of trichothecene toxins). Fungal genes differentially regulated between the phases were identified indicating that FCR disease development requires a coordinated process involving distinct fungal gene expression programs. A bioinformatic comparison of global F. graminearum gene expression during FCR of wheat with published data for FHB of barley indicated similarities at very early stages of infection but divergence thereafter. It was decided to functionally test whether F. graminearum utilises the same virulence genes in FCR and FHB diseases. Because no virulence genes have been previously identified from FCR studies a small group of genes were initially selected from the FCR gene expression studies for further functional analysis using gene knock-out technology. Only two of these genes showed a changed phenotype during Fusarium infection of wheat plants and they encoded a probable ABC transporter (FgABC1) and a probable superoxide dismutase (FgSOD1). It was interesting to note that even though both FgABC1 and FgSOD1 exhibited similar transcription profiles during both FCR of wheat and FHB of barley it was found that FgABC1 was specifically required for full FCR disease development on the wheat cultivar Kennedy whereas FgSOD1 was specifically required for FHB disease on the same cultivar. This indicated that F. graminearum virulence genes can show specificity to the infection of different plant tissues and that these types of genes cannot be predicted based only on their transcription profiles. It is suggested that F. graminearum induces a global set of virulence factors but only some of these may be effective in particular tissues. To test further whether there was tissue specialisation for specific tissues and FCR & FHB diseases, a group of F. graminearum genes that were known virulence factors during FHB were tested to see if they were also virulence factors for FCR. This analysis showed that two genes displayed specificity only for FHB and five were virulence factors for both FHB and FCR. One of the genes that was a virulence factor for both diseases was the Tri5 gene that is necessary for the biosynthesis of trichothecene mycotoxins. This gene and these toxins did not appear to be necessary for symptom development and the induction of host defence responses but were necessary for fungal colonisation of the crown and stem in later stages of infection. Interestingly there were parallels in the role played by the Tri5 gene in FCR and that reported for FHB where it is necessary for colonisation for the spike. This study is the first molecular analysis of any Fusarium species during crown rot of wheat. Importantly, it shows that there may be specialisation towards host tissues for some virulence genes but also suggests that some factors may be non-specifically required for infection and it is these factors that will represent attractive targets for future control measures of both diseases.

Hohenheim, Univ., Diss., 2004.

Submitted by Marco Antônio de Ramos Chagas (mchagas@ufv.br) on 2016-08-22T11:29:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 956629 bytes, checksum: 1096a842439a74fe8b122975f58e42bd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-22T11:29:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 956629 bytes, checksum: 1096a842439a74fe8b122975f58e42bd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-23 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Os fungicidas são normalmente aplicados para o manejo da giberela com o objetivo de garantir a produtividade e reduzir níveis de micotoxinas associadas à doença. Vários ingredientes ativos estão disponíveis no Brasil, sendo que os mais comumente recomendados pertencem ao grupo dos inibidores da demetilação (DMI) e benzimidazóis (MBC), ou usados em mistura com fungicidas do grupo das estrobilurinas (QoI). Dada a importância crescente de epidemias de giberela no Brasil, o uso de fungicidas vêm aumentando consideravelmente e, geralmente, duas aplicações têm sido recomendadas. Parcelas de campo em 16 municípios na região de Guarapuava, Sul do Paraná foram monitoradas durante quatro anos (2011 a 2014) e um total de 227 isolados semelhantes a espécies do complexo de espécies de Fusarium graminearum foram obtidos a partir de espigas de trigo sintomáticas. Uma amostra de 173 isolados foi identificada quanto ao genótipo tricoteceno com base em PCR. Entre eles, 67% foram identificados como 15- (A)cetil-desoxinivalenol(DON), 29% do nivalenol (NIV) e 4% como genótipo 3-ADON. Uma amostra de 35 isolados foi selecionada para determinar a concentração dos fungicidas tebuconazol e carbendazim que reduz em 50% do crescimento de micelial (EC 50 ), usando as seguintes doses (0; 0,5; 1,0; 2,0 e 4,0 μg / ml). As medias estimadas de EC 50 , independente do genótipo, foram 0,39 μg/ml (0,0004 a 3,0) e 1,25 μg/ml (0,91 a 2,65) para tebuconazol e carbendazim, respectivamente. As medias de EC 50 foram 1,32 μg/ml e 1,21 μg/ml para carbendazim e 0,58 μg/ml e 0,05 μg/ml para tebuconazol, para os isolados 15-ADON e NIV ou 3-ADON, respectivamente. O teste não paramétrico Kolmogorov-Smirnov mostrou diferença entre os isolados 15-ADON e os NIV+3-ADON quanto ao tebuconazol (P = 0,002), mas não para o carbendazim (P = 0,514). As doses discriminatórias de 1,4 μg/ml e 2,0 μg/ml foram usadas para identificar isolados menos sensíveis à carbendazim e tebuconazol, respectivamente, em toda coleção. Baseado nessas doses, dois isolados menos sensíveis ao tebuconazol e seis isolados menos sensíveis ao carbendazim foram encontrados, sendo todos originários do munícipio de Guarapuava ao longo de três safras e possuem o genótipo 15-ADON. Houve correlação significativa entre os valores de EC 50 dos dois fungicidas (r = 0,45; P = 0,007). Um único isolado apresentou os maiores valores de EC 50 para ambos fungicidas e apresentou uma mutação (R31K) no gene cyp51A. A presença da reduzida sensibilidade e um isolado resistente, reportado pela primeira vez no Brasil, sugerem que a seleção pode conduzir mudanças nas populações com consequências no manejo da doença. Estudos futuros devem se concentrar em atributos de fitness, competitividade e experimentos in vivo para verificar se a eficácia do fungicida é prejudicada na presença de isolados menos sensíveis. Em estudos de controle químico da giberela, resultados sobre a eficácia têm sido inconsistentes e variáveis para um mesmo fungicida. Uma revisão sistemática de estudos de eficácia dos fungicidas pode ser útil para apontar para os produtos mais eficazes e cenários onde a eficácia pode ser melhorada. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram a) revisar sistematicamente estudos de controle químico para o manejo da giberela realizados no Brasil durante os últimos 15 anos (2000-2015), publicados em revistas com e sem corpo editorial e b) conduzir uma metanálise da eficácia de controle e retorno em produtividade de fungicidas selecionados. Uma busca na literatura identificou 18 estudos que relataram a severidade da giberela (o mesmo que índice giberela) para pelo menos um tratamento com fungicida em comparação com um tratamento controle sem o fungicida, e também uma medida da variância amostral do ensaio. Apenas três e dois estudos relataram valores médios de grãos giberelados e deoxinivalenol (DON), respectivamente. Os estudos foram analisados e oito tratamentos com fungicidas, com pelo menos dez entradas foram selecionados para o estudo de metanálise. Foram incluídos os tratamentos com os fungicidas dos grupos: DMI (tebuconazol, metconazol e propiconazol) e MBC (carbendazim) formulados individualmente e uma pré-mistura de DMI + QoI (azoxistrobina + tebuconazol, piraclostrobina + metconazol, trifloxistrobina + prothioconazol e trifloxistrobina + tebuconazol). Foram testadas uma aplicação (×1) e duas aplicações (×2), sendo a primeira na floração plena e a segunda dez dias após. Um modelo metanalítico multivariado foi ajustado para o log das médias para cada fungicida e o tratamento controle de cada ensaio. A diferença nas estimativas médias do log da severidade entre um tratamento com fungicida e o controle foram usadas para calcular a razão de resposta média (R) e então transformadas para porcentagem de controle (C) e porcentagem de retorno em produtividade (P). A média de C e P variou de 48,94 a 70,39% e de 7,41 a 21,29%, respectivamente. Metconazol (×2) teve o melhor desempenho para reduzir a severidade da doença (C = 70,39%) e tebuconazol (×1) em retorno em produtividade (P = 21,29%). Propiconazol foi o menos eficaz entre os DMIs (C = 48,94%), seguido de carbendazim (C = 53,90%). Em geral, os fungicidas mais eficazes resultaram em maior retorno de rendimento. Quando os grupos de fungicidas foram comparados, em geral, os DMIs e as misturas tiveram o melhor desempenho, especialmente em ensaios conduzidos sob elevada pressão da doença (> 7% no tratamento controle). Os resultados mostraram que a eficácia de controle média em estudos brasileiros quando se utiliza duas aplicações são mais elevadas do que quando se utiliza apenas uma aplicação, como relatado em outro estudo de metanálise na América do Norte. Estudos futuros deverão centrar-se no efeito sobre os níveis de DON, especialmente para as misturas, que estão estrategicamente utilizadas para o controle de doenças foliares. / Fungicides are commonly applied for managing Fusarium head blight (FHB) with the aim of protecting yield and improving grain quality, but especially targeting mycotoxin reduction. Several active ingredients are available in Brazil and the most common belong to the demethylation-inhibitor (DMI) and benzimidazoles (MBC) groups, with the former commonly used in mixture with fungicides of the quinone-outside inhibitor (QoI) group. Given the increasing importance of FHB epidemics in Brazil, the use of fungicides is increasing considerably and usually two sprays are recommended. Experimental trials where fungicides have been applied for FHB control were monitored in 16 municipalities at the Guarapuava region, Southern Paraná, during four years (2011 to 2014). A total of 227 isolates resembling those of the Fusarium graminearum species complex were obtained from wheat heads with FHB symptoms. Of those, 173 isolates were assigned to trichothecene genotypes based on PCR assays. A random sample of 35 isolates from 2011 to 2013 was selected to determine the concentration of tebuconazole and carbendazim fungicides that reduces 50% of the mycelial growth (EC 50 ). The following doses were used: 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 μg/ml. In the PCR assays, most isolates (67%) were of the 15-(A)cetyl-deoxynivalenol (DON), 29% of the nivalenol (NIV) and 4% of the 3-ADON genotype. The estimated means of the EC 50 , irrespectively of the genotype, were 0.39 μg/ml (0.0004 to 3.0) and 1.25 μg/ml (0.91 to 2.65) for tebuconazole and carbendazim, respectively. The mean EC 50 were 1.32 μg/ml and 1.21 μg/ml for carbendazim and 0.58 μg/ml and 0.05 μg/ml for tebuconazole, for isolates of the 15-ADON and NIV + 3-ADON isolates, respectively. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov non-parametric test suggested that the sensitivity to tebuconazole of the 15-ADON and NIV+3-ADON isolates were sampled from populations with different distributions (P = 0.002), but not for carbendazim (P = 0,514). Discriminatory doses of the 1.4 μg/ml and 2.0 μg/ml were used to screen for less- sensitive isolates in the whole sample. Based on those doses, two tebuconazole-less sensitive and six carbendazim-less sensitive isolates were found, all were originated from Guarapuava municipality across three growing seasons and possessed the 15-ADON genotype. There was as significant correlation between the EC 50 values of tebuconazole and carbendazim (r = 0.45; P = 0,007). One isolate exhibited the highest EC 50 values for both fungicides and showed a mutation (R31K) in the cyp51A gene. The presence of less sensitive and a resistant isolate reported for the first time in Brazil suggest that selection may drive changes in the populations with impact in disease management. Future studies should focus on the attributes of fitness, competitiveness and in vivo assays to check whether fungicide efficacy is hindered in the presence of resistant isolates. Furthermore, results on fungicide efficacy have been inconsistent and variable for a same fungicide. Quantitative summary of fungicide data available in the country is lacking and could be useful to point to the most efficacious products and scenarios where efficacy can be improved. The objectives of this work were to a) systematically review the peer- and non- peer reviewed literature on chemical control studies for FHB management conducted in Brazil during the last 15 years and b) conduct a meta-analysis of the control efficacy and yield return of selected fungicides. A search in the literature identified 18 studies that reported FHB severity (same as FHB index) for least one fungicide treatment compared to a non-treated check, and also a measure of sampling variance in the trial. Only three and two studies reported mean values of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) and deoxyninvalenol (DON), respectively. Studies were scrutinized and eight fungicide treatments with at least 10 entries were selected for the meta-analysis study. They included DMI (tebuconazole, metconazole and propiconazole) and MBC (carbendazim) fungicide treatments formulated solo and a pre-mix of DMI+QoI (azoxystrobin + tebuconazole, pyraclostrobin + metconazole, trifloxystrobin + prothioconazole and trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole). One (×1) and two applications (×2) were tested, the first at full flowering and the second 10 days later. A multivariate meta-analytic model was fitted to the log of the means for each fungicide and check treatment of the trial. The difference in the mean estimates of the log of severity between a fungicide treatment and the check were used to calculate the mean response ratio represented by percentage control efficacy (C) and percentage yield return (P). Mean C and P ranged from 48.94 to 70.39% and from 7.41 to 21.29%, respectively. Metconazole (×2) performed best to reduce disease severity (C = 70.39%) and tebuconazole (×1) to increase yield (P = 21.29%). Propiconazole was the least efficacious among the DMIs (48.94%), followed by carbendazim (53.9%). In general, the most efficacious fungicides resulted in higher yield return. When fungicide groups were compared, the DMIs and the mixtures performed best in general, especially in trials conducted under high disease pressure (>7% in the check treatment). Results showed that mean control efficacy in Brazilian studies when using two sprays are higher one spray, as reported in other meta-analysis study in North America. Future studies should focus on the effect on DON levels, especially for the mixtures, which are strategically used for the control foliar diseases.

An assessment of the effect that conventional storage structures, used by smallscale farmers in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal and southern Mozambique, had on germination and vigour of maize seeds was conducted. The survey confirmed that the methods of storing the seed decreased the quality of the maize seeds. Storing maize in the field was good as a short-term solution as initial germination was 100%. Following storage at suboptimum conditions, germination dropped to 25.3%. Commercially treated maize seeds were compared to the test samples collected. After storage, the commercially treated seeds maintained a germination percentage above 75. Untreated maize seeds were treated with fungicides at the recommended dosages. Thereafter the seeds were subjected to germination and vigour tests according to methods outlined by the International Seed Testing Association. All treatments maintained percentage germination above 75. Apron® XL had the highest percentage germination of 83. This trend was also found following the cold test and greenhouse emergence. None of the treatments differed significantly from the control. In this study none of the treatments caused major imbibition damage as indicated by the percentage weight increase and the low leachate conductivity (1012-1271 ìScm-1g-1). The effect of accelerated ageing (AA, 2 and 4 days) and long-term storage (3 and 6 months) on germination and vigour of treated maize seeds was investigated. In the untreated control and treatments there was a gradual decrease in germination following ageing and storage of the seeds. Apron® XL failed to germinate after 3 months. The decrease in germination was mirrored by the leachate conductivity readings. Thiram was the only treatment to maintain germination after 6 months storage. The seeds were planted in two greenhouse trials to assess the performance of the treatments in vivo. The first trial evaluated the emergence and second the emergence and control of Fusarium graminearum. Results from the first trial showed that following 2 d AA, seeds treated with Thiram had the highest percentage emergence (70.7) followed by Celest® XL (68) and the untreated control (62.7). Following inoculation, a similar trend was seen for the treatments and the untreated control. In relation to the percentage seedlings emerged, the control had the highest percentage diseased seedlings. Celest® XL had the lowest percentage diseased seedlings (10, 2 and 1) but failed to germinate after 6 months storage. Thiram was the only treatment to emerge after 6 months storage. The ultrastructural changes in embryonic roots of the untreated control, Celest® XL and Apron® XL were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. These seeds were subjected to 48 hr rapid imbibition and 2 d AA. The most obvious difference between the untreated control, Apron® XL and Celest® XL was the number and position of the vacuoles. In contrast the lipid layer was still attached to the cell wall in the Apron® XL and Celest® XL treatments but in the untreated control they appeared more concentrated in the cytoplasm. This study proved that Thiram was the best treatment among the fungicides tested. However, these results need to be confirmed using a larger range of maize seed lots. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major challenge in global wheat production. In the United States, the disease is predominantly caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum. Utilization of FHB-resistant wheat cultivars integrated with other measures such as fungicide application is the most effective approach for the management of this disease. This study aimed to 1) identify novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to FHB in a Brazilian spring wheat cultivar ‘Surpresa’ through bi-parental mapping, 2) detect QTL for FHB resistance in a global panel of 233 spring wheat accessions by genome-wide association analysis (GWAS), and 3) localize genomic regions governing traits associated with virulence in Fusarium graminearum. Using phenotypic and genotypic data from 187 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross between Surpresa and a susceptible spring wheat cultivar ‘Wheaton’, four QTL (Qfhb.ndwp-2AS, Qfhb.ndwp-2AL, Qfhb.ndwp-3B, and Qfhb.ndwp-4D) were mapped on chromosomes 2A, 3B, and 4D of Surpresa, respectively. Qfhb.ndwp-2AS, Qfhb.ndwp-2AL, and Qfhb.ndwp-3B were found to be novel based on physical locations of the markers tightly linked to these QTL. Two significant marker-trait associations (Qfhb.ndwp-3A and Qfhb.ndwp-2BL) were detected by GWAS of 233 spring wheat accessions, which conferred type II and type III FHB resistance and mapped on chromosomes 3A and 2B, respectively. Both QTL were novel based on the physical locations of tightly linked markers. GWAS of virulence and fungicide sensitivity using 183 F. graminearum isolates collected from North Dakota identified two significant marker-trait associations in chromosomes 1 and 3 for virulence, and two for fungicide sensitivity. The genes associated with virulence that were detected in this study were not previously reported. Identification of these novel genes in metabolic pathways of F. graminearum could help to develop new strategies for the management FHB.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a serious disease of wheat and barley that has caused several billion dollars in crop losses over the last decade in the United States. Spores of F. graminearum are released from corn and small grain residues left-over from the previous growing season and are transported long distances in the atmosphere before being deposited.  Current risk assessment tools consider environmental conditions favorable for disease development, but do not include spore transport. Long distance transport models have been proposed for a number of plant pathogens, but many of these models have not been experimentally validated. In order to predict the atmospheric transport of F. graminearum, the potential source strength (Qpot) of inoculum must be known.  We conducted a series of laboratory and field experiments to estimate Qpot from a field-scale source of inoculum of F. graminearum.  Perithecia were generated on artificial (carrot agar) and natural (corn stalk) substrates.  Artificial substrate (carrot agar) produced 15±0.4 perithecia cm-2, and natural substrate (corn stalk) produced 44±2 perithecia cm-2.  Individual perithecia were excised from both substrate types and allowed to release ascospores every 24 hours.  Perithecia generated from artificial (carrot agar) and natural (corn stalk) substrates released a mean of 104±5 and 276±16 ascospores, respectively.  A volumetric spore trap was placed inside a 3,716 m2 clonal source of inoculum in 2011 and 2012.  Results indicated that ascospores were released under field conditions predominantly (>90%) during the night (1900 to 0700 hours).  Estimates of Qpot for our field-scale sources of inoculum were approximately 4 billion ascospores per 3,716 m2.  Release-recapture studies were conducted from a clonal field-scale source of F. graminearum in 2011 and 2012. Microsatellites were used to identify the released clone of F. graminearum at distances up to 1 km from the source. Dispersal kernels for field observations were compared to results predicted by a Gaussian dispersal-based spore transport model.  In 2011 and 2012, dispersal kernel shape coefficients were similar for both results observed in the field and predicted by the model, with both being dictated by a power law function, indicating that turbulence was the dominant transport factor on the scale we studied (~ 1 km).  Model predictions had a stronger correlation with the number of spores being released when using a time varying q0 emission rate (r= 0.92 in 2011 and r= 0.84 in 2012) than an identical daily pattern q0 emission rate (r= 0.35 in 2011 and r= 0.32 in 2012).  The actual numbers of spores deposited were 3 and 2000 times lower than predicted if Qpot were equal to the actual number of spores released in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Future work should address estimating the actual number of spore released from an inoculated field during any given season, to improve prediction accuracy of the model.  This work should assist in improving current risk assessment tools for FHB and contribute to the development of early warning systems for the spread of F. graminearum. / Ph. D.

No description available.