Scientists have pinpointed two genes that protect wheat against devastating fungal diseases found worldwide, potentially paving the way to hardier wheat strains, international researchers reported.
New research published in the journal Science showed how the genes provide resistance to leaf rust, stripe rust and powdery mildew, diseases responsible for millions of hectares of lost wheat yield each year.
"Improving control of fungal rust diseases in cereals through breeding varieties with durable rust resistance is critical for world food security," Simon Krattinger of the Institute of Plant Biology in Zurich and colleagues, wrote in one of the studies.
"The most profitable and environmental friendly strategy for farmers to control wheat rust in both the developing and the developed world is to grow genetically resistant wheat varieties."
The findings might help farmers one day protect crops without spraying them with fungicides, improve traditional plant breeding techniques and possibly help protect other crops susceptible to the diseases like barley, researchers said. Krattinger and his team isolated a gene called Lr34 using a resistant wheat line, knocking out genes until they found the one that offered protection.
— Reuters
