Harnessing Diterpenoid Phytoalexins for Fusarium-Resistant Wheat: From Discovery to Engineering

• Applicant: Dr. Yaming Liu
• Subject Area: Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems ; Plant Biochemistry and Biophysics ; Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 576027905

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a major threat to global wheat production and food safety due to severe yield losses and mycotoxin contamination. While genetic resistance offers a promising and sustainable control strategy, current resistance sources are limited and mechanistically not well understood. In other monocot crops such as barley, rice, and maize, diterpenoid phytoalexins—a class of pathogen-inducible antimicrobial metabolites—play crucial roles in defense responses. However, in wheat, these compounds remain largely uncharacterized, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of its chemical defense system. This project aims to identify, characterize, and engineer wheat diterpenoid phytoalexins to enhance resistance against FHB. Building on my previous research on barley diterpenoids and recent preliminary findings in wheat, the project integrates metabolomic profiling, biosynthetic gene cluster analysis, and functional genomics. The experimental approach includes pathogen infection, comparative metabolomics, heterologous pathway reconstitution, combinatorial biosynthesis, and CRISPR-based genome editing, applying advanced tools to discover and optimize antifungal metabolites. The anticipated outcomes will provide fundamental insights into wheat’s specialized metabolism and support the development of durable, metabolite-based resistance strategies, contributing to sustainable crop improvement and global food security.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Yiping Qi, Ph.D.