Removal of Disease-Sensitivity Genes in Crops Can Save Farmers Millions

Scientists in Australia have made their second big discovery in the past few days. Professor Richard Oliver, the Director of the Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens at John Curtain University believes he and his researchers have found a way to safely breed disease-free resistant wheat.

Oliver's study was funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation with trials provided by Kalyx Australia. They found that farmers in Australia typically lose more than .35 tons per hectare (10,000 square meters) of wheat due to Yellow Spot (a wheat disease) even after the application of fungicide. These numbers translate to about $212 million worth of damage to the Australian agricultural industry.

"Our finding will help breeders produce crops in which disease losses are 60 to 80 per cent lower, and would be a real win for farmers - they will often be able to avoid using foliar fungicides," Professor Oliver said in this Curtain University news article.

n order to get a better sense of how to combat wheat diseases, the researchers conducted a series of wheat variety trials by looking at the yield loss of different cultivars, which are plants chosen for breeding because of desirable characteristics. The scientists then compared cultivars with disease-sensitivity genes to cultivars without such genes. The experiments revealed that when disease-sensitivity genes are removed from the wheat germplasm, pathogens (specifically from Yellow Spot and Septoria Nodorum Blotch) have more difficulty latching onto the crop. 

As a result, Oliver and his team discovered that if the sensitivity gene was removed, the wheat was much less likely to be affected by the  diseases.

The research conducted in Professor Oliver's study was the first of its kind, and with such significant findings it should be a stepping-stone for future genetic studies for crops.

To read more, please visit this Curtain University news article.