Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major fungal disease that contributes to severe economic losses for wheat and barley production in Canada and other parts of the world. Rapid developments in molecular biology over the past three decades have improved the ability to devise predictive management tools to combat the effects of the disease. Important aspects of Fusarium species in terms of the epidemiology associated with FHB in wheat and barley have been reported. The role of mycotoxin production in the epidemiology of the disease is beginning to receive much needed research attention. Evolutionary factors and the use of fungicides have resulted in more virulent forms of the FHB pathogens. Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, including whole genome sequencing (WGS), genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) have facilitated the selection of resistant breeding lines through marker-assisted selection. Many quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with moderate disease resistance have been identified in wheat and barley. Changes in weather conditions play an important role in FHB epidemics and dissemination, thus a systematic and long-term research approach is needed to provide effective forecasting and risk assessment models. This review discusses the history and epidemiology of FHB pathogens in wheat and barley at the global level, as well as potential plant defense mechanisms, the recent progress made in resistance breeding, and modern tools utilized in disease prediction. It also provides future directions for improving the management of the disease with these two important cereals.

摘要

镰刀菌枯萎病（FHB）是一种主要的真菌病，对加拿大和世界其他地区的小麦和大麦生产造成了严重的经济损失。在过去的三十年中，分子生物学的飞速发展提高了设计预防性治疗工具以对抗疾病影响的能力。镰刀菌的重要方面已经报道了与小麦和大麦中FHB相关的流行病学物种。霉菌毒素的产生在该病的流行病学中的作用已开始受到非常需要的研究关注。进化因素和杀真菌剂的使用已导致FHB病原体的毒性更强。下一代测序技术的进步，包括全基因组测序（WGS），全基因组关联研究（GWAS），测序技术的基因分型（GBS）和RNA测序的技术（RNA-Seq），促进了通过标记-辅助选择。在小麦和大麦中已发现许多与中等抗病性相关的数量性状基因座（QTL）。天气条件的变化在FHB的流行和传播中起着重要的作用，因此需要一种系统的长期研究方法来提供有效的预测和风险评估模型。这篇综述讨论了全球范围内小麦和大麦中FHB病原体的历史和流行病学，以及潜在的植物防御机制，抗性育种方面的最新进展以及用于疾病预测的现代工具。它还为改善这两种重要谷物的疾病管理提供了未来的方向。