Zymoseptoria tritici (Desm.) Quaedvlieg & Crous causes Septoria Leaf Blotch (SLB) that is the most important foliar disease of winter wheat in the UK and Northern Europe. This plant pathogen has developed resistance to most of the single-site fungicides used for its control. Due to resistance development to the Methyl Benzimidazole Carbamates, Quinone outside inhibitors and some Sterol-demethylation inhibitors (DMIs), control of SLB relies upon the use of mixture applications of DMIs, Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors (SDHIs) and multi-site inhibitors (e.g. chlorothalonil and folpet). However, shifts in sensitivity and/or resistance to azoles have been confirmed in previous studies, and lab studies have shown a high risk for resistance development against SDHI fungicides. Although mechanisms underlying fungicide resistance to single-site fungicide are well studied, little is known about adaptation of Z. tritici to selection exerted by the use of multi-site inhibitors.After the completion of the Z. tritici genome sequence, novel tools such as Affymetrix GeneChip expression arrays and next generation RNA sequencing have become available to study more complex transcriptomic responses resulting in adaptation to fungicides. We studied the response of Z. tritici to multi-site inhibitors in both lag and log phase growth by comparing transcriptome expression levels from treated and untreated samples using RNAseq. Small but consistent changes in gene expression level occurred after exposure to chlorothalonil and folpet. Functional annotation analysis of significant (a = 0.05) differentially expressed genes indicated that different groups of genes representing different metabolic pathways were differentially expressed during exposure to chlorothalonil and folpet. �Functional groups� of genes associated with respiration and glycolysis were expressed in the presence of both fungicides. Groups of genes involved in protein synthesis and carboxylic acid metabolic process were only expressed during exposure to folpet. Further studies are needed to confirm if these compound-specific responses are conserved in other strains of Z. tritici and can serve as valid �gene expression signatures� for these two fungicides. Data can also be further explored to identify new targets involved in fungicide adaptation and amendable to chemical intervention to achieve a long-lasting sustainable disease control.

Transcriptional response of <i>Zymoseptoria tritici</i> to multi-site inhibitors

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Transcriptional response of Zymoseptoria tritici to multi-site inhibitors