沉默五个禾谷镰刀菌基因提高小麦赤霉病抗性

doi:10.1016/j.jia.2024.04.026

Journal of Integrative Agriculture ›› 2026, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (3): 1051-1063.DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.04.026

沉默五个禾谷镰刀菌基因提高小麦赤霉病抗性

收稿日期:2024-01-07 修回日期:2024-05-23 接受日期:2024-03-01 出版日期:2026-03-20 发布日期:2026-02-06

Silence of five Fusarium graminearum genes in wheat host confers resistance to Fusarium head blight

Jie Shuai^{1, 2*}, Qiang Tu^{1, 2*}, Yicong Zhang^{1, 2}, Xiaobo Xia³, Yuhua Wang³, Shulin Cao², Yifan Dong³, Xinli Zhou¹, Xu Zhang², Zhengguang Zhang³, Yi He^2#, Gang Li^3#

¹School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 629000, China
²Zhongshan Biological Breeding Laboratory, CIMMYT-JAAS Joint Center for Wheat Diseases, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
³Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

Received:2024-01-07 Revised:2024-05-23 Accepted:2024-03-01 Online:2026-03-20 Published:2026-02-06
About author:Jie Shuai, E-mail: shuaijie0519@163.com; Qiang Tu, E-mail: qiangtuswust@sina.com; #Correspondence Yi He, E-mail: heyi_yihe@163.com; Gang Li, E-mail: gang.li@njau.edu.cn * These authors contributed equally to this study.
Supported by:
This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFD1400105), the Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund (CX(22)2005), the Jiangsu Key R & D Plan (Modern Agriculture), China (BE2022346), the China Agricultural Research System Program (CARS-03), the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars (Overseas), China, and the Start-Up Grant from Nanjing Agricultural University, China.

摘要/Abstract

摘要：

小麦赤霉病(Fusarium head blight, FHB)是一种主要由禾谷镰刀菌(Fusarium graminearum)引起的全球性真菌病害，不仅影响产量，病原菌产生的脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（DON）等真菌毒素，还会降低籽粒品质，严重威胁人畜健康。RNA干扰(RNAi)是由双链RNA(dsRNA)诱发的基因沉默，通过RNAi的方式来沉默病原微生物特定基因的表达是一种绿色有效的病虫害防控技术。本研究针对小麦禾谷镰刀菌中的蛋白激酶基因Gpmk1、锌指蛋白基因FgChy1、转录因子FgSR、DON合成基因TRI5和细胞末端标记蛋白基因FgTeaA 五个致病关键基因，采用喷雾诱导基因沉默(SIGS)和宿主诱导基因沉默(HIGS)两种方法，验证能否通过沉默特定病菌靶标基因以实现防控小麦赤霉病的目的。我们通过喷洒单个或多个siRNA组合，发现SIGS可显著降低靶标基因的表达，并能抑制禾谷镰刀菌在小麦叶片中的扩展，其中，喷施五种siRNA的组合表现出最强的抗性。接下来，我们构建了同时干扰沉默这五个靶基因的RNAi植物表达载体，并获得了稳定表达的RNAi转基因小麦植株。进一步对两个独立的株系进行分析，发现对赤霉病和茎基腐病均表现出较强的抗性，并且降低了小麦中DON的积累。此外，转基因植株没有对小麦生长和产量性状产生不利影响。总之，我们的研究结果表明，利用SIGS和HIGS可有效沉默关键致病基因表达，增强作物的抗病能力，为其在植物防控真菌病害中的应用提供了重要的理论依据和技术支撑。

Abstract:

Fusarium head blight (FHB), mainly caused by fungus Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating wheat disease worldwide, leading to reduced yield production and compromised grain quality due to contamination by mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON). Manipulating the specific gene expression in microorganisms through RNA interference (RNAi) presents an opportunity for new-generation double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-based formulations to combat a large number of plant diseases. Here, we applied both spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) and host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) to target five virulence-related and DON-synthesized genes in F. graminearum, including protein kinase gene Gpmk1, zinc finger protein gene FgChy1, transcription factor FgSR, DON synthesis gene TRI5 and the cell-end marker protein gene FgTeaA, aiming to effectively control FHB in wheat. Direct spraying of individual or combined small interfering RNA (siRNAs) from the fungus showed reduced expression of target genes and suppressed pathogenic symptoms during F. graminearum infection in wheat leaves, with the combination of all five siRNAs demonstrating superior resistance. Furthermore, we generated transgenic wheat lines expressing chimeric RNAi cassettes targeting these five genes, and two independent lines exhibited strong resistance to FHB and Fusarium crown rot, and the reduced DON accumulation. Notably, the HIGS transgenic lines did not adversely impact plant growth and yield traits. Collectively, our findings support that SIGS and HIGS represent effective strategies targeting key pathogenic genes for bolstering disease resistance in crops.

Key words: Fusarium graminearum , FHB , resistance , HIGS , SIGS , gene expression , wheat

Jie Shuai, Qiang Tu, Yicong Zhang, Xiaobo Xia, Yuhua Wang, Shulin Cao, Yifan Dong, Xinli Zhou, Xu Zhang, Zhengguang Zhang, Yi He, Gang Li. 沉默五个禾谷镰刀菌基因提高小麦赤霉病抗性[J]. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2026, 25(3): 1051-1063.

Jie Shuai, Qiang Tu, Yicong Zhang, Xiaobo Xia, Yuhua Wang, Shulin Cao, Yifan Dong, Xinli Zhou, Xu Zhang, Zhengguang Zhang, Yi He, Gang Li. Silence of five Fusarium graminearum genes in wheat host confers resistance to Fusarium head blight[J]. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2026, 25(3): 1051-1063.

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沉默五个禾谷镰刀菌基因提高小麦赤霉病抗性

Silence of five Fusarium graminearum genes in wheat host confers resistance to Fusarium head blight

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