RNA profiling of Fusarium head blight-resistant wheat addition lines containing the Thinopyrum elongatum chromosome 7E

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease of cereal crops caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum (Fg). FHB affecting the flowering heads (or spikes). A FHB resistance locus has been identified on the chromosome 7E of the wild wheat relative Thinopyrum elongatum (Th.e.). That chromosome (7E) or a long arm fragment of it (7EL) have been transferred as additions in the wheat background 'Chinese Spring' (CS). The two addition lines are resistant to FHB while 'Chinese Spring' is moderately susceptible to it. The mechanism of resistance is not known. The analysis of this work is published in the Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology (Wang et al, 2010). We used the wheat microarray to determine the global expression profil in inoculated spikelets of the addition and parental lines, after water or Fg treatment, with samplings at 2 and 4 days after inoculation (DAI).