New Protein Discovery May Lead to Resistant Grain Crops
A major threat to wheat and barley farmers worldwide is Fusarium head blight (FHB), a disease that cuts grain yields and contaminates food with harmful toxins. Now, scientists have made an important breakthrough in understanding how the disease spreads.
In a study published in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, researchers identified a fungal protein named FgTPP1.
This protein, produced by the pathogen Fusarium graminearum, suppresses the plant’s immune system by targeting the chloroplast—a key part of the plant cell that manages energy and immune responses.
Researchers found that when the gene for FgTPP1 was removed, the fungus lost much of its ability to infect plants. This means the protein is critical to the spread of FHB and could be targeted to stop the disease.