Peer review

Background: ToxA, a necrotrophic effector protein, is present in the genome of fungal species like Parastagnospora nodorum, Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and Bipolaris sorokiniana. Tsn1 is the sensitivity gene in the host whose presence indicates more susceptibility to ToxA carrying pathogen, and ToxA-Tsn1 interaction follows an inverse gene-for-gene relationship. Methods and results: The present study involved cloning and expressing the ToxA1 haplotype from B. sorokiniana. It was found that the amplicon exhibited an expected product size of 471 bp. Sequence analysis of the ToxA1 nucleotide sequence revealed the highest identity, 99.79%, with P. tritici-repentis. The protein expression analysis showed peak expression at 16.5 kDa. Phylogenetic analysis of the ToxA1 sequence from all the Bipolaris isolates formed an independent clade along with P. tritici-repentis and diverged from P. nodorum. ToxA-Tsn1 interaction was studied in 18 wheat genotypes (11 Tsn1 and 7 tsn1) at both seedling and adult stages, validating the inverse gene-for-gene relationship, as the toxin activity was highest in the K68 genotype (Tsn1) and lowest in WAMI280 (tsn1). Conclusion: The study indicates that the haplotype ToxA1 is prevailing in the Indian population of B. sorokiniana. It would be desirable for wheat breeders to select genotypes with tsn1 locus for making wheat resistant to spot blotch.

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