The PFT gene in the Fhb1 QTL is not required for wheat Fusarium head blight resistance

Abstract The ambiguity about whether the histidine-rich calcium-binding protein-coding gene (HisR) or the pore-forming toxin-like gene (PFT) or both are responsible for wheat Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance conferred by Fhb1 QTL hinders wheat improvement and resistance mechanism elucidation. Here, with a series of developed lines possessing HisR but varying in PFT presence and five HisR-carrying PFT mutant lines created via gene editing, we show that PFT does not confer FHB resistance and the HisR resistance effect does not require PFT. We also show that PFT is not associated with morphological and phenological characters that often affect FHB severity.