FUCOMYR Progress report
Reporting Period: September 1, 2001 to February 28, 2002
1. Research
Objectives:
Fusarium fungi (F. graminearum, F. culmorum F. avenaceum, F. poae, F. tricinctum, F. equiseti, F. verticillioides, F. oxysporum, F. subglutinans, F. sporotrichioides and Microdochium nivale) are an important problem in the whole cereal food and feed chain because they contaminate the grain with mycotoxins (trichothecenes, [e.g. deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol, T2-toxin], which cause serious illness and immuno-repression in humans and animals.
The objective of this project is to reduce mycotoxin contamination in Europe’s most important crop wheat at the start of the production chain by means of improved Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) resistance. The development of new cultivars with low risk of mycotoxin accumulation is therefore of utmost importance.
To meet the goals a multi-disciplinary approach involving plant pathology, plant breeding, molecular genetics using phenotyping, genomics and in vitro research methods is applied. The project has eight partners cooperating in 3 work packages:
· To improve the efficiency of conventional selection for resistant lines, artificial infection in mist irrigated fields and under controlled conditions are performed [(Workpackage 1 (WP1)].
· This will enable the team of participants to develop molecular markers for selection of FHB resistance at the genetic level by QTL mapping of segregating populations as well as high resolution mapping and selective genotyping of resistant germplasm (WP 2). We already have three mapping populations and two more mapping populations are under development.
· The search for innovative selection techniques (in vitro selection, candidate resistance genes and pathogenesis related protein) for resistance against the fungus and toxin accumulation are part of further trials of the project (WP 3).
Results and
The
project progress is monitored by a series of milestones and deliverables within
each workpackage. The majority of the project activities
in WP1, WP2 and WP3 carried out during the first six months of the project will
yield results during the second half of the first project year. The accessions
in nurseries containing advanced germplasm and mapping populations will be
planted in Spring 2002 and evaluated for their FHB resistance in Summer 2002.
The following results were achieved so far:
· In WP1 the list of wheat breeding lines in screening nursery was produced and all lines are under multiplication to provide sufficient seeds for the all planned experiments. The production of 5 gram ultra pure crystalline deoxynivalenol was started and the first material can be expected until the end of the first project year. DON is required for the petritox, electrolyte leakage measurements and wheat ear injection experiments.
· In WP2 a list of marker data of 100 DNA markers is under construction in mapping population 2 and in mapping population 3. The seeds of more than 1000 individual F2 plants for pre-mapping were harvested and will be further advanced during spring 2002.
· In WP3 thirty Microdochium nivale var. nivale and/or var. major isolates were collected and a database with description of the characteristics of M. nivale isolates is built. A yeast heterologous complementation system for wheat was established. A SSCP assay for wheat RPL3 gene family was carried out. The stability of the gene expression in strains of F. culmorum was determined using an in vitro fungicide experiment. Database searches have revealed several candidate ESTs for marker development for candidate benzoxazinoid synthesis genes of wheat.
Future Actions:
At the present stage, future actions are not required. All actions envisaged in the workplan can be fulfilled in due time. Deliverables or milestones, which have been marked as “delayed”, can be achieved by being addressed during the second half of the reporting period.
2. Exploitation and Dissemination
At this early stage of the project development the results, which can be exploited or disseminated, are not available yet.
However, one crucial condition for the future success of our research is the contact to researcher and industry outside of our project. Therefore we initiated and established some of our respective tools and vehicles at the initial stage of the project.
1. The Fucomyr project will be presented in the next issue of the Cereal Research Communication, an international Journal widely read by researcher involved in applied plant science.
2. The FUCOMYR project was presented in first
after project start in Brussels at the “Mycotoxin Cluster, Linked Projects and
Their First Results” Info day October 2, 2001.
3. The Fucomyr project was presented at the Mycotoxin cluster and linked projects meeting in Bari in 14 to 16 of February 2002 and at the joint EU/ICC conference in Vienna in 6 to 8 March 2002.
4. The Fucomyr project website is active on the IFA-Tulln server (http://www.boku.ac.at/fucomyr/) since March 4, 2002. The website covers numerous aspects of the project like the description of workpackages, meetings, publications, public awareness issues and provides links to other Fusarium and Mycotoxin related websites in Europe and beyond. A password protected part of the website was established and can only be accessed by the project partner, which will utilize this area for project progress monitoring and project interaction activities.
5. Poster and leaflets: To introduce Fucomyr to the scientific community and plant breeding industry during conferences and fairs, a poster was produced informing in general terms about the project, its partners and expected achievements. The current leaflet is a reduced image of the poster. Both, poster and leaflet will be updated on a yearly basis, displaying the future progress of Fucomyr. The poster will be translated in German, Hungarian and Danish to be effectively positioned at Breeders Days, Schooldays, open Days, Science Weeks and Agricultural fairs within all six European countries of the project partners.
Other reports:
Project management and coordination