Interested Members of the University Community are invited to attend the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Science of Jade Muileboom of the Department of Plant Agriculture 

Date: Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
Time: 1:00pm (Virtual)
Location: Via Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting:  https://zoom.us/j/92022059110?pwd=YlZrZWljWnc4U1dNUENQaW1TNjE2UT09
Meeting ID: 920 2205 9110
Passcode: 195971

Thesis Title: “Discovery and testing of wheat head rachis beneficial microbes from ancestral and historic wheats for biocontrol of Fusarium graminearum “ 

Advisory Committee
Dr. Manish Raizada (Advisor)
Dr. Art Schaafsma
Dr. Rebecca Shapiro

Examination Committee
Dr. Gopinadhan Paliyath (Chair)
Dr. Manish Raizada
Dr. Art Schaafsma
Dr. Helen Booker                                 

ABSTRACT 

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) remains vulnerable to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a devastating grain disease primarily caused by the deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin-producing fungal pathogen F. graminearum Schwabe (Fg). Fg systematically infects grain via the rachis, the inflorescence stem that transports nutrients to developing seed. I hypothesized that the wheat rachis possesses a microbiome, including microbes with anti-Fg activity. I cultured rachis bacteria and fungi from a panel of winter wheat varieties encompassing 150 years of modern breeding in Western Canada, as well as from the extant ancestors of bread wheat. I tested these microbes for anti-Fg activity in vitro and in planta. The data suggest that the rachis is a valuable source of diverse beneficial microbes, both for biocontrol against FHB and possibly to promote grain head development. I discuss how rachis-derived biocontrol agents may be ideally adapted for use as wheat head sprays and represent novel technologies to combat FHB.