Solomon Group - Wheat biosecurity

Fungal diseases are the cause of millions of tonnes in yield losses each on farms around the world. This is serious issue not only in terms of financial losses, but also when considering food security and stability. Using today's wheat prices, the losses from fungi in Australia exceed $1 billion dollars, and that is using effective control measures; without these losses would exceed $5 billion dollars.Thus there are many good reasons to better understand how these pathogens cause disease! Our laboratory focuses on two significant pathogens of wheat, Parastagonospora nodorum and Zymoseptoria tritici. Read more about it on my research page.

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Selected publications

Dupont P-Y, Eaton C, Wargent J, Fechtner S, Solomon PS, Schmid J, Day R, Scott B, Cox M (2015) Fungal endophyte infection of ryegrass reprograms host metabolism and alters development. New Phytologist (in press)

Thynne E, McDonald MC, Evans M, Wallwork H, Neate S, Solomon PS (2015) Re-classification of the causal agent of white grain disorder on wheat as three separate species of Eutiarosporella. Australasian Plant Pathology (in press) (doi: 10.1007/s13313-015-0367-2)

McDonald MC, Williams AH, Milgate AM, Pattemore JA, Solomon PS, Hane J (2015) Next-generation re-sequencing as a tool for rapid bioinformatic screening of presence and absence of genes and accessory chromosomes across isolates of Zymoseptoria tritici. Fungal Genetics and Biology (in press) (doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2015.04.012)

Sanchez-Vallet A, McDonald MC, Solomon PS, McDonald BA (2015) Is Zymoseptoria tritici a hemibiotroph? Fungal Genetics and Biology (in press) (doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2015.04.001)

Chooi YH, Muria-Gonzalez MJ, Mead O, Solomon PS (2015) SnPKS19 encodes the polyketide synthase for alternariol mycotoxin biosynthesis in the wheat pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum. Applied and Environmental Microbiology(in press) (doi:10.1128/AEM.00278-15)

Tan K, Phan HP, Rybak K, John E, Chooi YH, Solomon PS, Oliver RP (2015). Functional redundancy of necrotrophic effectors - consequences for exploitation for breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science 6:501. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00501

Hane JK, Williams AH, Taranto AP, Solomon PS, Oliver RP (2015) Repeat-induced point mutation: A fungal specific, endogenous mutagenesis process. In Genetic Transformations Systems in Fungi, Volume 2. Van den Berg, M.A., Maruthachalam, K (Eds). Springer, Switzerland.

Thynne E, McDonald MC, Solomon PS (2015) Phytopathogen emergence in the genomics era. Trends in Plant Science20, 246-255.

Pascovici D, Song X, Solomon PS, Winterberg B, Mirzaei M, Goodchild A, Stanley WC, Liu J, Molloy MP (2015) Combining protein ratio p -values as a pragmatic approach to the analysis of multirun iTRAQ experiments. Journal of Proteome Research 14, 738-746.

Muria-Gonzalez MJ, Chooi YH, Breen S, Solomon PS (2015) The past, present and future of secondary metabolite research in the Dothideomycetes. Molecular Plant Pathology 16, 92-107.

McDonald MC, McDonald BA, Solomon PS (2015) Recent advances in the Zymoseptoria tritici–wheat interaction: Insights from pathogenomics. Frontiers in Plant Science 6 (dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00102).

Eaton CJ, Dupont PY, Solomon PS, Clayton W, Scott B, Cox MP (2015) A core gene set describes the molecular basis of mutualism and antagonism in Epichloë spp. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 28, 218-231.

Chooi YH, Krill C, Barrow RA, Chen S, Trengove R, Oliver RP, Solomon PS (2015) An in planta-expressed polyketide synthase produces (R)-mellein in the wheat pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 81, 177-186.

Winterberg B, Du Fall LA, Song X, Pascovici D, Care N, Molloy M, Ohms S, Solomon PS (2014) The necrotrophic effector protein SnTox3 re-programs metabolism and elicits a strong defence response in susceptible wheat leaves. BMC Plant Biology 14.

Robinson AL, Boss PK, Solomon PS, Trengove RD, Heymann H, Ebeler SE (2014) Origins of grape and wine aroma. Part 1. Chemical components and viticultural impacts. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 65, 1-24.

Robinson AL, Boss PK, Solomon PS, Refidaff C, Heymann H, Ebeler SE (2014) Origins of grape and wine aroma. Part 2. Chemical and sensory analysis. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 65, 25-42.

Chooi YH, Solomon PS (2014) A chemical ecogenomics approach to understand the roles of secondary metabolites in fungal cereal pathogens. Frontiers in Microbiology 5.

Chooi YH, Muria-Gonzalez MJ, Solomon PS (2014) A genome-wide survey of the secondary metabolite biosynthesis genes in the wheat pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum. Mycology 5, 192-206.

Pascovici D, Gardiner DM, Song X, Breen E, Solomon PS, Keighley T, Molloy MP (2013) Coverage and consistency: Bioinformatics aspects of the analysis of multirun iTRAQ experiments with wheat leaves. Journal of Proteome Research12, 4870-4881.

Mead O, Thynne E, Winterberg B, Solomon PS (2013) Characterising the role of GABA and its metabolism in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. PLoS ONE 8.

Gummer JPA, Trengove RD, Oliver RP, Solomon PS (2013) Dissecting the role of G-protein signalling in primary metabolism in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Microbiology (United Kingdom) 159, 1972-1985.

Du Fall LA, Solomon PS (2013) The necrotrophic effector SnToxA induces the synthesis of a novel phytoalexin in wheat. New Phytologist 200, 185-200.

Robinson AL, Adams DO, Boss PK, Heymann H, Solomon PS, Trengove RD (2012) Influence of geographic origin on the sensory characteristics and wine composition of Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Australia.American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 63, 467-476.

Oliver RP, Friesen TL, Faris JD, Solomon PS (2012) Stagonospora nodorum: From pathology to genomics and host resistance. Annual Review of Phytopathology 50, 23-43.

Ipcho SVS, Hane JK, Antoni EA, Ahren D, Henrissat B, Friesen TL, Solomon PS, Oliver RP (2012) Transcriptome analysis of Stagonospora nodorum: Gene models, effectors, metabolism and pantothenate dispensability. Molecular Plant Pathology 13, 531-545.

Gummer JPA, Trengove RD, Oliver RP, Solomon PS (2012) A comparative analysis of the heterotrimeric G-protein Gα, Gβ and Gγ subunits in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. BMC Microbiology 12.

Gardiner DM, McDonald MC, Covarelli L, Solomon PS, Rusu AG, Marshall M, Kazan K, Chakraborty S, McDonald BA, Manners JM (2012) Comparative Pathogenomics Reveals Horizontally Acquired Novel Virulence Genes in Fungi Infecting Cereal Hosts. PLoS Pathogens 8.

A full list of Assoc. Prof. Peter Solomon's publications can be found at ResearcherID C-9301-2009.

ANU to boost Australia's nuclear and biosecurity expertise

Story | Monday 7 August 2023
ANU has been awarded a total of almost $10m in funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) to bolster the nation's capabilities in nuclear and radiation science, and plant biosecurity.

Megan McDonald - Real "STEM" Wonder Women

Story | Tuesday 11 February 2020
Megan McDonald is a Real Wonder Women in STEM. Read about her in this Biocomic designed for International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
Professor Peter Solomon. Image Stuart Hay, ANU

Australian wheat shows resistance to devastating disease

Story | Thursday 19 September 2019
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.

ARC grant success

Story | Friday 10 November 2017
The Australian National University (ANU) has won $24 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) funding for 58 research projects across the University. 
Understanding wheat pathogens

Megan McDonald wins 2017 Peer Prize for Women in Science

Story | Tuesday 27 June 2017
Congratulations to Megan McDonald, who has won the 2017 Peer Prize for Women in Science, for her work on ToxA in wheat.

ANU Plant-Microbe Interactions retreat

Story | Wednesday 14 September 2016

ARC Discovery projects and DECRA fellowships

Story | Monday 2 November 2015

New fungi behind emerging wheat disease

Story | Thursday 27 August 2015

ANU Reporter feature: Peter Solomon

Story | Friday 23 May 2014
A tastier tipple

Disease in wheat: grant and media

Story | Monday 28 April 2014
Peter Solomon was awarded a grant in May 2014 from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to undertake viral-induced gene silencing in wheat.

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