Gdanetz, K. and F. Trail
Presented at the All Scientist Meeting (2013-04-04 to 2013-04-05 )
Microbiomes encompass the total microorganisms living in a particular environment, including their respective genomes and interactions. Identifying the microbiome of wheat under different agricultural practices would help elucidate how communities of microbes interacting with this important food crop are structured, and how the microbiome is influenced by these practices. Fusarium graminearum is a fungal pathogen of the cereal crops wheat, corn, and barley, and causal agent of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) a devastating disease that contaminates the grain with several mycotoxins, including the tricothecene deoxynivanol (DON), which render the grain unsuitable for consumption. The shift from till agriculture, which effectively buried inoculum-containing crop residues, to no-till agriculture for soil conservation led to the emergence of severe FHB outbreaks in the 1990s and 2000s in the US. In addition, global warming is causing a geographical shift in mycotoxigenic Fusarium species, bringing mycotoxins to areas where they previously were not present and changing the species causing disease. An understanding of how agricultural practices influence the wheat microbiome, and how the microbiome affects a major disease organism would strengthen our ability to protect the crop in a shifting climate.
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