Award details

Evolution of plant-pathogen interactions and applications to plant improvement

Reference	BBS/E/J/00000605
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr James Brown
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	2,235,904
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/05/2003
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	166 months

Abstract

There is a constant struggle between plants and their parasites: as plants evolve to become resistant to disease, parasites evolve to overcome that resistance. Consequently, crops in agriculture are exposed to a constantly changing population of different genotypes and species of parasites. I am especially interested in trade-offs involved disease resistance, such as the cost of virulence to pathogens, the cost of resistance to plants (such as a trade-off between disease resistance and grain yield) and trade-offs between resistances to different types of disease. This leads to a challenging issue of how a plant breeder can improve many traits simultaneously and how crop varieties can be optimised despite a rapidly changing environment. My group's research falls into two related parts. Firstly, we study processes by which plants and parasites coevolve to become adapted to one another. Secondly, we are researching ways of making high-quality crop varieties more resistant to disease. Methods include genetic analysis of plants and fungi and pathology research in the lab, glasshouse and field trials. We work on several diseases, as appropriate for the research topic in question. Most of our work is on fungal pathogens of cereals, especially powdery mildew of barley and wheat (Blumeria graminis) septoria tritici blotch of wheat (Mycosphaerella graminicola) and ramularia leaf spot of barley (Ramularia collo-cygni). In current projects, we are also studying yellow rust of wheat (Puccinia striiformis) and powdery mildew of cucurbits (Podosphaera fusca). Our theoretical research on coevolution also makes use of mathematical and computer modelling.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Microbiology, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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