Growth, genetic, and phenotypic responses of Chlamydomonas and Arabidopsis to varying concentrations of and times of exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON)

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a deadly fungal disease that affects large quantities of wheat and barley each year. The current study found that the knocking out of a gene in algae led to decreased resistance to a toxin produced by FHB (DON) while its overexpression led to increased resistance; this overexpression resulted in some upregulation of downstream genes, particularly when DON was not added. Phenotyping revealed that DON led to chloroplast rupture, and a gene coding for a sulfur transport protein in the Arabidopsis plant was quickly and greatly upregulated in response to DON while other genes were not.