Quantitative determination of trypsin inhibitor as a breeding marker in maize varieties with different resistance to fungal diseases

Determination of plant resistance to fungal pathogens is an important breeding component. Thus, the study of protein profiles from corn kernels (13 genotypes) revealed a constitutively pronounced 14 kDa protein, trypsin inhibitor (TI), which is present at a relatively high level of concentration in seven Aspergíllus flavus - resistant maize lines, but at low concentrations or is absent in six sensitive lines. The 14 kDa trypsin inhibitor (TI) also showed antifungal activity against other mycotoxicogenic species. In this regard, the task was to determine the content of TI in varieties of maize with known properties, resistance, or sensitivity to such fungal pathogens of maize as head smut, common smut, and Fusarium stalk rot. According to the data obtained, the content of TI varies in different varieties and can vary by 4 times. However, in disease-resistant varieties its content is increased, which may be the primary marker of resistance of the variety to fungal pathogens.