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Gene Discovery May Halt Worldwide Wheat Epidemic

Gene Can Help Fend off Devastating Strain of Stem Rust

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photo of researcher with wheat
嘿嘿视频 wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky and his team have identified a gene that enables resistance to a strain of stem rust. (嘿嘿视频)

Quick Summary

  • Stem rust can destroy large percentage of world鈥檚 second most important grain
  • New stem rust strain is spreading throughout Africa and threatens Asia鈥檚 bread basket
  • Identification of effective resistance genes are critical to mitigate stem-rust threat

University of California, Davis, researchers have identified a gene that enables resistance to a new devastating strain of stem rust, a fungal disease that is hampering wheat production throughout Africa and Asia and threatening food security worldwide.

The discovery by 嘿嘿视频 wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky and his team will help breeders more quickly develop varieties that can fend off the deadly pathogens and halt a worldwide wheat epidemic. The findings were recently published in the journal 

Wheat and stem rust have been in an evolutionary arms race for more than 10,000 years. In the 1950s, a major epidemic of the disease spread through North America and destroyed up to 40 percent of the wheat crop, the world鈥檚 second most important grain next to rice.

Since then, scientists have developed rust-resistant varieties to boost wheat鈥檚 immunity to stem rust. But the pathogens are making a comeback. A new strain of the stem rust 鈥 called Ug99 after it was discovered in Uganda in 1999 鈥 is spreading throughout the region. About 90 percent of the wheat varieties grown worldwide are susceptible to Ug99.

鈥淯g99 has expanded to most of the wheat-growing regions in Africa and has crossed the Red Sea to Yemen and Iran,鈥 said Dubcovsky, a professor with the 嘿嘿视频 Department of Plant Sciences and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. 鈥淯g99 is now at the door of the Punjab region 鈥 the bread basket of Asia 鈥 and identification and deployment of effective resistance genes are critical to mitigate this threat.鈥       

Dubcovsky and his team identified three different resistance forms of Sr13, a gene from pasta wheat that is effective against Ug99 and another group of virulent stem-rust strains from Yemen and Ethiopia. In 2013, Dubcovsky and fellow researchers discovered another gene called Sr35 that also provides resistance to Ug99. The team is close to identifying a third gene that confers protection from the virulent strain. 

Why genetics matter

To develop better varieties, breeders cross plants with desired traits and select the best offspring over multiple generations. Once stem-rust resistant genes have been identified, breeders can use molecular markers (specific regions of DNA) to select for the genes at the seed or seedling stage. This accelerates the crop-improvement process.

These molecular markers allow breeders to pyramid multiple stem-rust-resistant genes in the same plant to extend the durability of resistance.

鈥淲heat provides a substantial amount of calories and proteins consumed by humans,鈥 Dubcovsky said. 鈥淲e hope that a better understanding of the wheat-rust pathosystem will speed the development of new strategies to control this devastating pathogen.鈥

The research is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and funded with grants from the USDA, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. 

 

Media Resources

Diane Nelson, 嘿嘿视频 College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 530-752-1969, denelson@ucdavis.edu

Jorge Dubcovsky, 嘿嘿视频 Plant Sciences, 530-752-5159, jdubcovsky@ucdavis.edu

Amy Quinton, 嘿嘿视频 News and Media Relations, 530-752-9843, amquinton@ucdavis.edu

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Secondary Categories

Food & Agriculture Science & Technology

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