Characterization of lectins from wheat seedlings infected with Fusarium graminearum and treated by jasmonic acid

Fusarium head blight is one of the most serious diseases of wheat caused by a range of Fusarium fungi, which infects the heads of the crop, reducing grain yield. Lectins that specifically bind carbohydrate ligands of various chemical nature and Jasmonic acid (JA) as a key regulator of plant development play an important role in plant protective responses to biotic factors. The goal of the study was to determine the activity and biochemical characteristics of soluble lectins in wheat seedlings of varieties. ‘Lastivka odeska’ with a high resiliency to Fusarium graminearum and ‘Nikonia odeska’ susceptible to Fusarium graminearum. Wheat seedlings were grown on the media containing pathogenic infection or JA solution. Lectins were purified by affinity chromatography and separated by electrophoresis in 15% PAGE. Lectin activity was determined by the method of trypsinized blood erythrocytes hemagglutination. Molecular mass of the main components of lectins from ‘Lastivka odeska’ seedlings was determined to be 67, 60, 45 kDa, and of the main component of lectins from ‘Nikonia odeska’ seedlings – 45 kDa. Lectins isolated from the control untreated seedlings had preferential affinity for N-acetylglucosamine, D-galactosamine and D-fructose-6-phosphate. It was shown that both at pathogen action or JA treatment lectin activity in the seedlings of resistant ‘Lastivka odeska’ variety was increased while in the seedlings of susceptible ‘Nikonia odeska’ variety it was decreased as compared to control. At the joint action of pathogen and JA lectin activity in the seedlings of susceptible variety increased compared with the infected seedlings. The results obtained can be used for development of biochemical methods for assessing the degree of wheat varieties resiliency to fusariose. Keywords: affinity to carbohydrates, Fusarium graminearum, jasmonic acid, resiliency to fusariose, soluble lectins, wheat variety