Award details

Maximizing the potential for sustainable and durable resistance to the wheat yellow rust pathogen

Reference	BBS/E/J/000CA500
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Cristobal Uauy
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	167,182
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/01/2013
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	50 months

Abstract

Wheat provides 20% of the calories consumed by humankind and is a major staple across Africa and Asia. Wheat yellow rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is one of the most devastating diseases of wheat worldwide and the appearance of new and more aggressive races has resulted in severe yield losses in recent years. The most sustainable strategy to manage yellow rust is to breed broad-spectrum disease resistance into wheat. To date, resistance genes have been identified, bred, and deployed in agriculture without detailed knowledge of the effectors they are sensing, an inherently 'blind' approach. Central to the development of more effective breeding strategies is a better understanding of Pst pathogenicity, virulence factors, and their evolution. However, progress in these areas has been slow and hampered by the lack of Pst genome sequence information. The overall aim of this proposal is to understand the molecular basis of Pst pathogenicity and exploit this information to design effective breeding strategies that maximize the potential for durable disease resistance in the field. The objectives of this proposal are to: 1. Establish a Pst population genomics platform 2. Characterize the pathogenicity arsenal of Pst 3. Evaluate Triticeae germplasm for Pst resistance 4. Fine map and deploy resistance genes which maximize potential for durable resistance 5. Develop and enhance scientific capabilities of Southern partners This project will provide insight into how the wheat yellow rust pathogen has overcome previously effective R genes, identify and catalogue the effector repertoires of Pst, and identify closely linked markers for R genes with potential for durable resistance. This will lead to the development of locally adapted wheat varieties with improved potential to express durable resistance in the field, improving the sustainability of food crop production systems for small holder farmers

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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