GM Barley

Fusarium infection in barley leads to reduction in grain quantity and quality. Quality is affected because of the presence of the mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), which can make farm animals especially non-ruminants, sick if ingested at high concentrations.  

Several approaches are being employed by scientists to illicit resistance of barley to the Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) or Head Scab disease. These promising genes are incorporated through particle bombardment into barley tissues.

One method is to incorporate the TRI101 gene (Trichothecene-3O-acetyltransferase) which chemically modifies DON, rendering it non-toxic. DON is associated with the virulence of the fungi and is known to inhibit the plant's defense mechanisms. Nancy Alexander (email: alexannj@mail.mcaur.usda.gov), a microbiologist of the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) is involved in this research.

Another approach is by using the anti-fungal gene, PDR5 which was isolated from yeasts. PDR5 protects barley plants from the pathogen by pumping out the DON toxin. You can contact Patricia Okubara (email: pokubara@pw.usda.gov) for further details at this address: USDA-ARS and Washington State University, 333 Johnson Hall, Pullman, WA 99164-6430 Phone: 509-335-1116.

Other approaches enable the barley plant to manufacture proteins (hordothionin and/or thaumatin) and enzymes (glucanase and/or chitinase) that are capable of destroying the cell wall of the fungi by punching holes into it.

Related topics:

• Fungal resistance
• The FHB organism
• Virus resistance
• Feed improvement

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