Breeding a fungal gene into wheat

Jones, Jonathan and Wulff, Brande (2020) Breeding a fungal gene into wheat. Science, 368 (6493). pp. 822-823. ISSN 0036-8075

Preview

PDF (Accepted_MAnuscript) - Accepted Version Download (359kB) | Preview

Abstract

Every year, infection of wheat by the fungus Fusarium graminearum results in losses of ∼28 million metric tons of wheat grain (1), valued at $5.6 billion. The fungus reduces yields but also contaminates harvests with trichothecene toxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON; also called vomitoxin because of its effects on mammals) that render grain too poisonous to use. The disease is becoming more prevalent because of increasing cultivation of maize (also a host for the fungus) and reduced tillage (ploughing) agriculture, which promotes fungal survival on last season's plant debris. On page 844 of this issue, Wang et al. (2) reveal the molecular identity of the Fusarium head blight 7 (Fhb7) gene, which encodes a glutathione S-transferase that detoxifies DON. This gene was acquired through a “natural” fungus-to-plant gene transfer in a wild wheat relative. This naturally occurring genetically modified (GM) wheat strain is therefore exempt from regulation and can be grown directly by farmers

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Plant Sciences
Related URLs:	https://science.sciencemag.org/content/3... http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2020 00:07
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 06:17
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/75508
DOI:	10.1126/science.abb9991

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item