ISRC research affiliate Silvina Arias, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology in collaboration with Jamie O’Rourke, USDA-ARS, recently provided a final report on their ISRC-funded research project titled, “Characterization of Iron Deficiency and Fusarium graminearum Interactive Responses in Soybean.” The objective of the study was to identify soybean genes affected by Fusarium graminearum infection in an iron deficiency environment to help identify new potential resistance mechanisms and candidate genes involved in the defense response. Iron deficiency and Fusarium root rot, a disease caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, can cause significant yield reductions and substantial economic losses for soybean growers. 

This study led to the identification of genes in leaves of soybean varieties Clark (9,315 genes) and IsoClark (4,765 genes) that were infected by the Fusarium infection making the genes a high priority to characterize and study in the future. Similarly, 8,195 genes differentially expressed due to Fusarium infection in Clark roots and 6,407 in IsoClark roots were identified. These genes can now be studied to better understand the infection and plant response to Fusarium infection. 

Arias and O’Rourke also identified 781 genes in leaves and 190 in roots with expression patterns that change direction under iron deficiency stress and Fusarium infection. These genes indicated an interaction between iron deficiency and Fusarium infection that has not been previously reported. The results offer insight into how soybean responds to Fusarium infection. Understanding soybean responses to these stresses is crucial for more effective management and may also be useful in developing new methods to broaden the resistance of soybean to Fusarium graminearum infection and iron deficiency. 

Also, during the course of this study, a new bioinformatics pipeline tool was developed to manipulate large file sizes, which will greatly improve the speed at which future analyses take place. For example, what once took three hours, now takes one minute. 

A final report for this project may be viewed via the ISRC’s website.