%0 Journal Article
%T Brachypodium distachyon: a new pathosystem to study Fusarium head blight and other Fusarium diseases of wheat
%A Antoine Peraldi
%A Giovanni Beccari
%A Andrew Steed
%A Paul Nicholson
%J BMC Plant Biology
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2229-11-100
%X The ability of Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum to infect a range of Bd tissues was examined in various bioassays which showed that both species can infect all Bd tissues examined, including intact foliar tissues. DON accumulated in infected spike tissues at levels similar to those of infected wheat spikes. Histological studies revealed details of infection, colonisation and host response and indicate that hair cells are important sites of infection. Susceptibility to Fusarium and DON was assessed in two Bd ecotypes and revealed variation in resistance between ecotypes.Bd exhibits characteristics of susceptibility highly similar to those of wheat, including susceptibility to spread of disease in the spikelets. Bd is the first reported plant species to allow successful infection on intact foliar tissues by FHB-causing Fusarium species. DON appears to function as a virulence factor in Bd as it does in wheat. Bd is proposed as a valuable model for undertaking studies of Fusarium head blight and other Fusarium diseases of wheat.Several Fusarium species are globally important pathogens of wheat (Triticum aestivum). These fungi infect floral tissues as well as seedlings, stem bases and roots causing Fusarium head blight (FHB), seedling blight, crown rot and root rot, respectively [1,2]. Of these, FHB is the one of greatest significance worldwide being one of the most destructive diseases of wheat, with economic and health impacts [3,4]. The predominant Fusarium species associated with FHB are Fusarium graminearum (Fg) (teleomorph: Gibberella zeae) and Fusarium culmorum (Fc) which are also the most economically relevant [5,3].FHB is of primary concern because Fg and Fc produce a number of secondary metabolites within infected grain that are toxic to human and animal consumers. The most prevalent Fusarium mycotoxins in wheat are trichothecenes such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) [6]. Experiments using mutants of Fg unable to produce DON showed that th
%K Fusarium
%K Brachypodium distachyon
%K wheat
%K deoxynivalenol
%K model-to-crop translation
%K disease resistance
%K host-pathogen interaction
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2229/11/100