ARS | Publication request: POTENTIAL INCREASED RESISTANCE TO FUSARIUM SPECIES IN SORGHUM LINES GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOR REDUCED LIGNIN CONTENT

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 16, 2006
Publication Date: June 1, 2006
Citation: Funnell, D., Pedersen, J.F. 2006. Potential increased resistance to Fusarium species in sorghum lines genetically modified for reduced lignin content. American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting. 96:S37.

Technical Abstract: Potential increased resistance to Fusarium species in sorghum lines genetically modified for reduced lignin content. Deanna L. Funnell and Jeffery F. Pedersen, Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research, USDA-ARS; Departments of Plant Pathology (DLF) and Agronomy (JFP), University of Nebraska. Lincoln, 68583-0937. Two genes conferring the brown midrib (bmr) trait were backcrossed into six elite grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench)] lines, resulting in reduced lignin. Seed from field grown plants were assessed for colonization by Alternaria spp. and Fusarium spp. The results suggest that the bmr lines do not have increased susceptibility to colonization by Alternaria spp. Significantly fewer colonies of Fusarium spp., including members of Fusarium moniliforme sensu lato, were recovered from seeds of bmr lines, as compared with respective wild-type lines, when two genetic backgrounds were tested. That the bmr trait might enable increased resistance, in some genetic backgrounds, was further supported by greenhouse experiments in which peduncles of developing heads were inoculated with a virulent F. moniliforme isolate. Mean lesion measurements on bmr lines were significantly lower than those resulting from inoculations on wild-type lines. Analysis of near isogenic lines revealed that mean lesion lengths on bmr lines were significantly less than those produced on wild-type counterparts in 4 of the 6 genetic backgrounds. These results suggest that reduced lignin lines may have increased resistance to Fusarium spp., including F. moniliforme.