Gene expression during priming-induced resistance to fusarium head blight in wheat as revealed by two distinct mutants of Fusarium graminearum. Triticum aestivum

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease of cereal crops caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum (Fg). FHB affects the flowering heads (or spikes) and developing seeds. This study compare the gene expression profile in wheat spikelets (spk 2) inoculated with either water (mock treatment) or a pathogenic strain of Fusarium graminearum (WT); spikelets 2 were inoculated 24 hrs after a neighbour spikelet (spk 0) was treated with either water or F. graminerum mutant strain Tri6Δ or NoxABΔ. Spikelets 2 were sampled 8 and 24 hrs after the second treatment. Overall design: We used the Affymetrix wheat array to compare gene expression in wheat spikelets from the susceptible cultivar Roblin. Individual Roblin heads were inculated first in a spikelet at mid anthesis (spk 0) with water (H20) or F. graminerum mutant strain Tri6Δ or NoxABΔ , followed 24 hrs later by a second inoculation in spikelet 2 (spk 2) of the same heads with either water or a pathogenic strain of F. graminearum (WT). Point inoculation was used for the treatments; sampling of spikelets 2 was done at 8 and 24 hrs after the second inoculation, with 3 biological replicates for each treatment combination.