ARS | Publication request: GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF BARLEY WITH GENES FOR SCAB RESISTANCE

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 30, 2002
Publication Date: October 30, 2002
Citation: Manoharan, M., Hohn, T.M., Dahleen, L.S. 2002. Genetic transformation of barley with genes for scab resistance. Agronomy Abstracts (CD-ROM).

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight, incited primarily by Fusarium graminearum, has caused devastating losses to barley since the early 1990's. Production of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) by F. graminearum is harmful to humans and livestock. Expressing certain anti-toxin genes such as TRI101 and PDR5 could improve resistance to fungal infection and reduce DON levels. TRI101 encodes a 3-OH trichothecene aceytltransferase that converts DON to a less toxic acetylated form. PDR5, an ATP-binding cassette, acts as an efflux transporter, shunting DON across the plasma membrane from the interior of the cell. We have transformed the commercial malting barley cultivar Conlon with these genes to reduce DON levels in infected grain. Ten-day old calli derived from immature embryos were co-bombarded with the herbicide resistance gene bar as the selectable marker. Putative transgenic plants were confirmed by Southern analysis. A total of seven independent events with TRI101 and six with PDR5 were recovered. Northern analysis indicated the expression of the introduced genes. Expression of TRI101 was further confirmed by detecting acetyltransferase activity in seeds of the transgenic plants. T2 lines of three events with TRI101 and two events with PDR5 were planted in the field for disease and toxin testing.