Alien chromatin from Hordeeae grasses enhances the compatibility of Epichloë endophyte symbiosis with the hexaploid wheat Triticum aestivum
The inoculation of Epichloë endophytes into modern cereals, resulting in systemic infection, depends on the genetics of both the host and the endophyte strain deployed. Until very recently, the only modern cereal to have been infected with Epichloë, in which normal phenotype seed-transmitted associations were achieved, is rye (Secale cereale). Whilst minor in-roads have been achieved in infecting hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum), the phenotypes of these associations have all been extremely poor, including host death and stunting. To identify host genetic factors that may impact the compatibility of Epichloë infection in wheat, wheat–alien chromosome addition/substitution lines were inoculated with Epichloë, and the phenotypes of infected plants were assessed. Symbioses were identified whereby infected wheat plants were phenotypically like uninfected controls. These plants completed their full lifecycle, including the vertical transmission of Epichloë into the next generation of grain, and represent the first ever compatible wheat–Epichloë associations to be created.
Funding
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand (contract C10X0815)
Grasslanz Technology Limited (PN23098)
Foundation for Arable Research and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GTL1709-001RTX)
History
Rights statement
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Publication date
2024-05-27Project number
- Non revenue
Language
- English
Does this contain Māori information or data?
- No