Transnational landscape in Fusarium graminearum during wheat infection

We employed ribosome profiling (ribo-seq) to study translational responses and how such responses are coordinated with transcriptional changes in the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum (Fg), which causes Fusarium head blight (FHB), a destructive disease of cereal crops worldwide. Study revealed that transcription and translation were not always coordinated with approximately 22% of Fg genes showing a discordant relationship during wheat infection. In addition, more than 1000 new open reading frames (ORFs), many of which are short and highly conserved, were identified in the Fg genome. Like in higher eukaryotes, translation is controlled by upstream ORFs (uORFs) in Fg during infection. Similarly, miRNAs control both transcription and translation in Fg during wheat infection. This study uncovered mechanisms of translational regulation and gene annotation in Fg.