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Project 1: Develop wheat plants expressing enhanced resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB; scab).<P> Project 2: Study the involvement of salicylic acid (SA), ethylene and jasmonic (JA) signaling in plant defense against Fusarium graminearum.
Approach: Project 1: Continue field trials and greenhouse studies to evaluate the stability of Ubi1:AtNPR1 expression and scab resistance in the transgenic hexaploid wheat cultivar Bobwhite. Carry out additional field trials on two additional Ubi1:AtNPR1 expressing lines. Engineer AtNPR1 expression in durum wheat and other hexaploid cultivars. Evaluate transgene expression in the transgenic plants and propagate these lines.<P> Project 2: Compare the response of plant defense to salicylic acid (SA) and its functional analog, BTH, between scab resistant and susceptible wheat cultivars to determine if there is a correlation between sensitivity to SA/BTH and the extent of scab resistance. Utilize Arabidopsis SA synthesis mutants to characterize the involvement of SA signaling in plant defense against F. graminearum. Characterize the involvement of ethylene and JA signaling in plant interaction with F. graminearum.