Researchers have a new understanding of the genetic makeup of a fungus that causes the disease Wheat Stripe Rust, one of the most destructive wheat diseases globally costing $1 billion annually.
Research that could transform global rice production by increasing yields from the world’s number one food crop has been boosted by five more years of funding.
Some clever detective work by an international team of scientists has uncovered how a deadly fungus - a stem rust called Ug99 - came about through some unusual breeding habits. The discovery will help protect wheat crops around the world from devastating fungal diseases.
Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have shown how Australian wheat crops would cope if a destructive disease that’s yet to hit our shores ever made it into the country.
The ability to rapidly adapt to changing environments, especially to artificial environments created by industrial agriculture and modern medicine, is crucial for the success of pathogens infecting plants and animals.
‘Translational research’ became an increasingly common term when it was realised that much agriculturally inspired basic research failed to contribute to the improvement of crops.
Plant biotechnology predominantly relies on a restricted set of genetic parts with limited capability to customize spatiotemporal and conditional expression patterns.