Protecting Wheat From Newly Emerging 3ANX Chemotypes of Fusarium Head Blight

Lead Applicant: Jennifer Geddes-McAlister

Research Priority: Food Safety

Program Type: Tier 1

Funding Cycle: 2026/2027

Research Centre: Ontario Crops Research Centre - Elora

Research Summary: Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a major threat to cereal crop production due to yield losses and contamination of grain with harmful mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). Previous work identified wheat proteins that play a role in detoxifying DON. However, the emergence of new mycotoxins, including 3-acetylnivalenol (3ANX), has made disease management more challenging. In collaboration with Drs. Art Schaafsma and David Hooker (Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Mitacs-funded), wheat responses to 3ANX using field samples collected in 2022 and 2023 we investigated. Results showed significantly lower activation of defense pathways and detoxification mechanisms in wheat exposed to 3ANX compared to DON. These findings support the hypothesis that 3ANX either evades detection by, or actively suppresses, classical wheat defense responses. Notably, samples collected three weeks after inoculation showed poor recognition and limited detoxification of 3ANX. This suggests that early defense signaling is either not triggered or is actively inhibited. Overall, the findings highlight an urgent need to better understand and strengthen wheat resistance mechanisms against emerging mycotoxins such as 3ANX.