Fusarium verticillioides (F. verticillioides) is a widely distributed phytopathogen that incites multiple destructive diseases in maize, posing a grave threat to corn yields and quality worldwide. However, there are few reports of resistance genes to F. verticillioides. Here, we reveal that a combination of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) corresponding to ZmWAX2 gene associates with quantitative resistance variations to F. verticillioides in maize through a genome-wide association study. A lack of ZmWAX2 compromises maize resistance to F. verticillioides-caused seed rot, seedling blight and stalk rot by reducing cuticular wax deposition, while the transgenic plants overexpressing ZmWAX2 show significantly increased immunity to F. verticillioides. A natural occurrence of two 7-bp deletions within the promoter increases ZmWAX2 transcription, thus enhancing maize resistance to F. verticillioides. Upon Fusarium stalk rot, ZmWAX2 greatly promotes the yield and grain quality of maize. Our studies demonstrate that ZmWAX2 confers multiple disease resistances caused by F. verticillioides and can serve as an important gene target for the development of F. verticillioides-resistant maize varieties.

中文翻译：

---

ZmWAX2 的遗传变异赋予玉米对轮枝镰刀菌的抗性

轮枝镰刀菌（F. verticillioides）是一种分布广泛的植物病原体，可引起玉米多种破坏性病害，对全球玉米产量和质量构成严重威胁。然而，关于轮枝镰刀菌抗性基因的报道却很少。在这里，我们通过全基因组关联研究揭示了与ZmWAX2基因相对应的两个单核苷酸多态性 (SNP) 的组合与玉米中F. verticillioides 的定量抗性变异相关。ZmWAX2的缺乏会通过减少角质层蜡沉积而损害玉米对轮枝镰刀菌引起的种子腐烂、幼苗枯萎和茎腐病的抗性，而过表达ZmWAX2的转基因植物显示出对轮枝镰刀菌的免疫力显着增强。启动子内自然发生的两个 7-bp 缺失会增加ZmWAX2转录，从而增强玉米对F. verticillioides的抗性。镰刀菌茎腐病后，ZmWAX2极大地提高了玉米的产量和籽粒品质。我们的研究表明，ZmWAX2赋予由F. verticillioides引起的多种抗病性，并且可以作为开发F. verticillioides抗性玉米品种的重要基因靶标。