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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Crop Science Research Laboratory » Corn Host Plant Resistance Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #204064
Title: Is rachis lignification a deterrent to Aspergillus flavus movement through the developing maize ear?

Author
item SPANGER, L - PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV
item PECHANOVA, O - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
item MAGBANUA, Z - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
item Williams, William
item LUTHE, D - PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/16/2006
Publication Date: 5/17/2007
Citation: Spanger, L., Pechanova, O., Magbanua, Z., Williams, W.P., Luthe, D.S. 2007. Is rachis lignification a deterrent to Aspergillus flavus movement through the developing maize ear [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2006 Multicrop Aflatoxin/Fumonisin Elimination & Fungal Genomics Workshop, October 16-18, 2006, Ft. Worth, Texas. p. 81.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In previous research, the proteomes of the immature rachis of Aspergillus flavus resistant and susceptible maize inbreds were compared using differential-in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE). One of the proteins that was 66-fold more abundant in the resistant inbred MP313E than in the susceptible inbred SC212M was caffeoyl-CoA-O-methyl transferase (CCoAOMT). CCoAOMT is one of the key enzymes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway. Other studies with GUS and GFP-labeled A. flavus strains indicated that fungal growth in the cob was restricted in the resistant lines. Taken together these results suggested that the lignin content of the rachis may be a factor in retarding fungal growth or movement. In this study, cross-sectioned slices of MP313E and SC212M collected 21 days after silking were stained with phloroglucinol to observe the differences in lignin patterns. Preliminary tests show that MP313E appears to have more lignin and a different lignification pattern in the rachis than SC212M.