UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science and Earth Institute, College of Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Plant Sciences Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
Plant Sci. 2019 Nov;288:110217. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.110217. Epub 2019 Aug 13.
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin produced by phytopathogenic Fusarium fungi in cereal grain and plays a role as a disease virulence factor. TaFROG (Triticum aestivum Fusarium Resistance Orphan Gene) enhances wheat resistance to DON and it interacts with a sucrose non-fermenting-1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase 1 catalytic subunit α (SnRK1α). This protein kinase family is central integrator of stress and energy signalling, regulating plant metabolism and growth. Little is known regarding the role of SnRK1α in the biotic stress response, especially in wheat. In this study, 15 wheat (Triticum aestivum) SnRK1α genes (TaSnRK1αs) belonging to four homoeologous groups were identified in the wheat genome. TaSnRK1αs are expressed ubiquitously in all organs and developmental stages apart from two members predominantly detected in grain. While DON treatment had either no effect or downregulated the transcription of TaSnRK1αs, it increased both the kinase activity associated with SnRK1α and the level of active (phosphorylated) SnRK1α. Down-regulation of two TaSnRK1αs homoeolog groups using virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) increased the DON-induced damage of wheat spikelets. Thus, we demonstrate that TaSnRK1αs contribute positively to wheat tolerance of DON and conclude that this gene family may provide useful tools for the improvement of crop biotic stress resistance.
脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（DON）是一种由植物病原镰刀菌在谷物中产生的真菌毒素，作为一种疾病毒力因子发挥作用。TaFROG（小麦赤霉病抗性孤儿基因）增强了小麦对 DON 的抗性，它与蔗糖非发酵-1（SNF1）相关蛋白激酶 1 催化亚基 α（SnRK1α）相互作用。这个蛋白激酶家族是应激和能量信号的中心整合因子，调节植物代谢和生长。关于 SnRK1α 在生物胁迫反应中的作用，特别是在小麦中的作用，知之甚少。在这项研究中，在小麦基因组中鉴定了 15 个小麦（Triticum aestivum）SnRK1α 基因（TaSnRK1αs），它们属于四个同源群。TaSnRK1αs 在所有器官和发育阶段都广泛表达，除了两个主要在谷物中检测到的成员。虽然 DON 处理要么没有影响，要么下调了 TaSnRK1αs 的转录，但它增加了与 SnRK1α 相关的激酶活性和活性（磷酸化）SnRK1α 的水平。使用病毒诱导的基因沉默（VIGS）下调两个 TaSnRK1α 同源群增加了 DON 诱导的小麦小穗损伤。因此，我们证明 TaSnRK1αs 有助于小麦对 DON 的耐受性，并得出结论，这个基因家族可能为提高作物生物胁迫抗性提供有用的工具。
