AUTHOR=Gatti Miriam , Choulet Frédéric , Macadré Catherine , Guérard Florence , Seng Jean-Marc , Langin Thierry , Dufresne Marie 

TITLE=Identification, Molecular Cloning, and Functional Characterization of a Wheat UDP-Glucosyltransferase Involved in Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight and to Mycotoxin Accumulation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01853

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.01853

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Plant uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucosyltransferases (UGT) catalyze the glucosylation of xenobiotic, endogenous substrates and phytotoxic agents produced by pathogens such as mycotoxins. The <italic>Bradi5g03300</italic> UGT-encoding gene from the model plant <italic>Brachypodium distachyon</italic> was previously shown to confer tolerance to the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) through glucosylation into DON 3-<italic>O</italic>-glucose (D3G). This gene was shown to be involved in early establishment of quantitative resistance to Fusarium Head Blight, a major disease of small-grain cereals. In the present work, using a translational biology approach, we identified and characterized a wheat candidate gene, <italic>Traes_2BS_14CA35D5D</italic>, orthologous to <italic>Bradi5g03300</italic> on the short arm of chromosome 2B of bread wheat (<italic>Triticum aestivum L</italic>.). We showed that this UGT-encoding gene was highly inducible upon infection by a DON-producing <italic>Fusarium graminearum</italic> strain while not induced upon infection by a strain unable to produce DON. Transformation of this wheat UGT-encoding gene into <italic>B. distachyon</italic> revealed its ability to confer FHB resistance and root tolerance to DON as well as to potentially conjugate DON into D3G <italic>in planta</italic> and its impact on total DON reduction. In conclusion, we provide a UGT-encoding candidate gene to include in selection process for FHB resistance.</p>