A Lipid Transfer Protein has Antifungal and Antioxidant Activity and Suppresses Fusarium Head Blight Disease and DON Accumulation in Transgenic Wheat.

Trichothecene mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) are virulence factors of , which causes Fusarium head blight, one of the most important diseases of small grain cereals. We previously identified a nonspecific lipid transfer protein (nsLTP) gene, , which was overexpressed in an activation-tagged line resistant to trichothecin, a type B trichothecene in the same class as DON. Here we show that overexpression of in transgenic wheat significantly reduced growth in 'Bobwhite' and 'RB07' lines in the greenhouse and reduced fungal lesion size in detached leaf assays. Hydrogen peroxide accumulation was attenuated on exposure of transgenic wheat plants to DON, indicating that may confer resistance by inhibiting oxidative stress. Field testing indicated that disease severity was significantly reduced in two transgenic 'Bobwhite' lines expressing DON accumulation was significantly reduced in four different transgenic 'Bobwhite' lines expressing or a wheat nsLTP, , which was previously shown to have antioxidant activity. Recombinant purified from exhibited potent antifungal activity against . These results demonstrate that overexpression of in transgenic wheat suppresses DON accumulation in the field. Suppression of DON-induced reactive oxygen species by might be the mechanism by which fungal spread and mycotoxin accumulation are inhibited in transgenic wheat plants.