Biology subjects

Hoheneder, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Hoheneder, F..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Network Inference Reveals Distinct Transcriptional Regulation in Barley against Drought and Fusarium Head Blight

We analyzed transcriptional networks in barley under single and combined Fusarium head blight (FHB) and drought stress. We applied complementary Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify stress-associated gene co-expression modules and GENIE3 to infer gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Integration of these frameworks revealed strong overlaps between co-expression modules and GRN clusters, highlighting robust regulatory patterns. Key transcription factors (TFs) were identified based on their weighted node degrees, reflecting their connectivity within the network. Independent analysis of paired transcription factor binding sites in promoter regions further supported predicted regulatory interactions. Notably, WRKY TFs emerged as central regulators of FHB response, consistent with their known roles in defense and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, but did not appear in drought-associated contexts. For bHLH or NAC TFs, individual family members steered FHB or drought responses but not both. Our findings demonstrate the power of combining network inference and motif enrichment to identify candidate TFs controlling stress responses, providing a solid foundation for targeted functional validation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Transcriptome and hormone regulations shape drought stress-dependent Fusarium Head Blight susceptibility in different barley genotypes

Little is known about regulatory mechanisms that crop plants use to respond to combinations of abiotic and biotic stress. We analysed four barley genotypes under simultaneous Fusarium culmorum infection and drought stress by phenotyping of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) disease, hormone profiling, and transcriptome analysis. FHB severity was host genotype-dependent, with moderately resistant cultivars Avalon and Barke showing increased FHB under drought, while drought did not further increase FHB severity in highly susceptible Morex and Palmella Blue. Transcriptome analysis revealed largely additive effects of single stresses, with drought-dominated regulation with increasing drought severity at later stages. Co-expression analysis connected abscisic acid and auxin to gene expression modules functionally enriched with stress-specific physiological responses. Stress-response genes, uniformly expressed across genotypes, were linked to pathogen defence, detoxification, and drought adaptation, whereas a cluster of hundreds of moderately Fusarium-responsive genes was limited in up-regulation under combined stress, possibly explaining enhanced FHB severity under drought. A multiple linear regression model accurately predicted combined stress expression from single stress responses, demonstrating modularity of barleys stress regulation under combined drought and Fusarium stress. Graphical AbstractSimplified working model illustrating drought effects on abscisic acid (ABA) levels and susceptibility to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) of barley, and key processes such as storage and desiccation responses, photosynthesis, cell wall formation, metabolism, and transferase activity. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=117 SRC="FIGDIR/small/689882v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (30K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@15504adorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a62498org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1acb1f5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d78a3b_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Multi-omics of barley Fusarium Head Blight converge on pathogen-triggered biosynthesis of aromatic amino acid derived chemical defense compounds

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is a devastating fungal disease of small grain cereals like wheat and barley, causing substantial yield and quality losses each year worldwide. FHB is caused by Fusarium species that produce mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) that impairs protein biosynthesis. Although defense responses in barley to Fusarium infection have been described at the transcriptional level, it remains unclear to what extent these responses are translated into functional changes at the protein and metabolite levels. In this study, we employed comprehensive transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to dissect the defense responses of barley heads during infection with Fusarium culmorum. Our integrated analyses revealed a set of significantly regulated gene-protein pairs linked to biosynthetic pathways that consistently correspond to upregulated defense-related metabolites. These include tryptophan-derived stress metabolites such as tryptamine and serotonin, as well as barley-specific hydroxycinnamylamides, including conjugates from the trypthophan metabolism, hordatines, and their biosynthetic precursors. Integrating data across multiple omics layers identifies the upregulation of aromatic amino acid derived secondary metabolism as the most consistent barley response to FHB infection across diverse barley varieties that share barley-typical type II resistance to fungal spreading in the head rachis.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Barley shows reduced Fusarium Head Blight under drought and modular expression of differential expressed genes under combined stress

Plants often face simultaneous abiotic and biotic stress conditions. However, physiological and transcriptional responses of plants under combined stress situations are little understood. Spring barley is susceptible to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), which is strongly affected by weather conditions. We therefore studied the potential influence of drought on FHB severity and responses in three differently susceptible spring barley varieties and found strongly reduced FHB severity in susceptible varieties under drought. Quantity of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and strength of transcriptomic regulation reflected the concentration of physiological stress markers such as abscisic acid or fungal DNA contents. Infection-related gene expression associated rather with susceptibility than resistance. Weighted gene correlation network analysis uncovered 18 modules of co-expressed genes, which reflect the pathogen or drought response in the used varieties. A generally infection-related module contained co-expressed genes for defence, programmed cell death and mycotoxin-detoxification indicating that diverse genotypes use a similar defence strategy towards FHB albeit with different success. Further DEGs showed co-expression in drought or genotype-associated modules correlating with measured phytohormones or the osmolyte proline. The combination of drought stress with infection lead to highest numbers of DEGs and provoked a modular composition of single stress responses rather than a specific transcriptional readout. HighlightCo-expression network analysis reveals association of physiological stress markers and gene expression modules under biotic and abiotic stress

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Ramularia leaf spot disease of barley is highly host genotype-dependent and suppressed by continuous drought stress in the field

Since the 1980s, Ramularia leaf spot (RLS) is an emerging barley disease world-wide. The control of RLS is increasingly aggravated by a recent decline in fungicide efficacy and a lack of RLS-resistant cultivars. Furthermore, climate change increases drought periods in Europe, enhances variable weather conditions and thus will have an impact on severity of plant diseases. Hence, identification of RLS-resistant cultivars and understanding of disease progression under abiotic stress are important aims in integrated disease management under climate change. In the present study, we evaluated quantitative RLS resistance of 15 spring barley genotypes under drought, controlled irrigation and field conditions between 2016 and 2019 and monitored microclimatic conditions within the canopy. We identified genotypes that show robust quantitative resistance to RLS in different field environments. Our findings suggest that long-lasting drought periods create unfavourable conditions for the disease and supports that the extent and duration of leaf wetness is a key factor for RLS epidemics.

plant biology↗