ARS | Publication request: DEVELOPMENT OF VNTR MARKERS FOR TWO FUSARIUM GRAMINEARUM CLADE SPECIES

Submitted to: Molecular Ecology Notes
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 21, 2004
Publication Date: July 31, 2004
Citation: Suga, H., Gale, L.R., Kistler, H.C. 2004. Development of vntr markers for two fusarium graminearum clade species. Molecular Ecology Notes. p. 468-470.

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium head blight is perhaps the most important disease of wheat and barley in the U.S. This disease also is important in China, where varieties of wheat with resistance to the disease have been identified. To determine whether these resistance varieties in China would also be useful in the U.S., differences the fungus that causes disease between the two countries also must be considered. While some effort has been made to examine the diversity of the Fusarium head blight pathogen in China and to compare the pathogen populations from China with those in the U.S., the methods used to make these comparisons have been laborious. The objective of this project was to develop useful and rapid genetic tools to determine the levels of genetic diversity in the pathogen responsible for causing Fusarium head blight on wheat when comparing populations in China and the U.S. This research will benefit scientists working to develop wheat varieties resistant to the Fusarium head blight pathogen by alerting them to the fact that the pathogen strains in China and in the U.S. may be genetically different. Thus special care must be taken to assure that wheat varieties are resistant to both the U.S. and Chinese strains of the pathogen. Ultimately, this research will benefit producers of wheat and barley worldwide by assuring that resistant varieties are resistant to all strains of the pathogen.

Technical Abstract: Using a bioinformatics approach, we developed ten variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) markers for Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium asiaticum useful for population genetic studies. Repeat sequences in the genome sequence of F. graminearum were identified by a tandem repeat finding program. Length polymorphisms at 54 loci were examined for five strains each from the United States, Italy and China. From these 54 loci, ten were selected based on polymorphisms detected across species, ease of scoring, and their dispersed location in the genome.