Horizontal gene transfer of Fhb7 from fungus underlies Fusarium head blight resistance in wheat

Fungal disease meets its match Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by a fungus, reduces wheat crop yield and introduces toxins into the harvest. From the assembly of the genome of Thinopyrum elongatum , a wild relative of wheat used in breeding programs to improve cultivated wheat, Wang et al. cloned a gene that can address both problems (see the Perspective by Wulff and Jones). The encoded glutathione S -transferase detoxifies the trichothecene toxin and, when expressed in wheat, confers resistance to FHB. Science , this issue p. eaba5435 ; see also p. 822