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.
Fungal pathogens are a major constraint to global crop production, hence plant genes encoding pathogen resistance are important tools for combating disease.
This event is presented by Plantae, and co-hosted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology.
Despite the advances in genome sequencing and assembly, detailed annotation of plant genomes is now a bottleneck in genomic analysis and an impediment to realizing the full potential of genome editing for crop improvement.
The urgent need to find alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and products is driven by concerns for the environment, dwindling fossil fuel reserves, and the issue of energy security.