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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Plant Physiology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #426391
Research Project: Molecular Genetic and Proximal Sensing Analyses of Abiotic Stress Response and Oil Production Pathways in Cotton, Oilseeds, and Other Industrial and Biofuel Crops

Location: Plant Physiology and Genetics Research

Title: Evaluation of select spring barley accessions for resistance to Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol accumulation

Author
item PAGE, RAE - Syngenta
item Sallam, Ahmad
item SZINYEI, TAMAS - University Of Minnesota
item MATNY, OADI - University Of Minnesota
item WODAREK, JOSEPH - University Of Minnesota
item STEFFENSON, BRIAN - University Of Minnesota

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/7/2025
Publication Date: 8/15/2025
Citation: Page, R., Sallam, A.H., Szinyei, T., Matny, O., Wodarek, J., Steffenson, B. 2025. Evaluation of select spring barley accessions for resistance to Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol accumulation. Crop Science. 65(4). Article e70095. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70095.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70095

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most devastating barley diseases in the U.S. resulting in significant losses. To identify FHB resistant sources, more than 21,000 cultivated barley accessions were screened for resistance in disease nurseries over the past 20 years. Some accessions were evaluated for resistance once, while others were evaluated several times. A final panel of 234 barley accessions were selected based on the phenotypic scores from the previous disease screening. Other selection criteria included using barley accessions with spring growth habits (lack of vernalization requirement) in addition to selecting lines with improved resistance from several mapping populations. The final panel was evaluated in field experiments in St. Paul and Crookston, MN for a total of 11 trials in 2016 and from 2018-2021. A set of seven barley controls that included resistant and susceptible barley lines were used. Randomized complete block and augmented incomplete block designs were used for field trial assessments. In addition to FHB, other traits were assessed in the panel including deoxynivalenol (DON) concentration, heading date, plant height, kernel density, and node density. Wide genetic variation was observed for all traits. Both FHB severity and DON concentration were positively correlated, and both were negatively correlated with heading date and plant height. None of the tested accessions were immune to FHB and the resistance was quantitative in nature. Eleven and seven accessions had lower DON concentration and FHB severity than the resistant source Chevron, respectively. The most susceptible accessions was PI 383933. The panel was genotyped with the 50K Illumina Infinium iSelect array for barley, and Morex v3 positions were used. Cluster analysis revealed two sub-populations in the panel. Cluster 1 included most of the six-row barley accessions, and cluster 2 included mostly the two-row accessions. The data generated from the study includes a comprehensive summary for FHB severity screening to worldwide barley accessions. The study confirmed the challenges associated with improving FHB resistance because of the association between resistance and agro-morphological traits.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB), a devastating disease of barley caused primarily by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, causes significant yield losses and grain contamination with mycotoxins. Enhancing resistance to FHB and the resultant accumulation of mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), is an effective and economical method of reducing losses caused by this disease. A diverse panel of 234 barley accessions from world-wide origins was assembled and evaluated in head-to-head comparisons over multi-year and multi-environment field trials to identify those that perform consistently well with respect to FHB resistance and DON accumulation under Upper Midwest conditions. In addition to these two traits, row type (RT), heading date (HD), plant height (HT), kernel density (KD), and node density (ND) assessments were also recorded to investigate the relationship between these agro-morphological traits and both DON concentration and FHB severity. Accessions were genotyped with a barley 50K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray in order to assess their population structure and genetic relationships and also investigate patterns of disease resistance. Several accessions originating from diverse backgrounds were identified as having moderately high resistance to FHB and/or DON accumulation. However, most accessions with low disease severity and mycotoxin accumulation also had undesirable agro-morphological traits, a challenge in breeding for FHB resistance in barley. The data generated in this study will be valuable resources for resistance breeding and genetic mapping of resistance to FHB and DON accumulation.