Genetic variation in ZmWAX2 confers maize resistance to Fusarium verticillioides

Summary 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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant biotechnology journal 2023-09, Vol.21 (9), p.1812-1826
Main Authors: Ma, Peipei, Liu, Enpeng, Zhang, Zhirui, Li, Tao, Zhou, Zijian, Yao, Wen, Chen, Jiafa, Wu, Jianyu, Xu, Yufang, Zhang, Huiyong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biosynthesis
Blight
Corn
Crop yield
Cuticular wax
Disease
disease resistance
Epicuticular wax
Fatty acids
Fusarium
Fusarium verticillioides
Genes
Genetic diversity
Genome-wide association studies
Genomes
Haplotypes
Infections
maize (Zea mays L.)
Nucleotides
Pathogens
Seed rot
Seedling blight
Seedlings
Seeds
Single-nucleotide polymorphism
Stalk rot
Transgenic plants
Waxes
ZmWAX2
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary 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.
ISSN:1467-7644
1467-7652
DOI:10.1111/pbi.14093