Researchers Examine Bacterial Rice Diseases, Search for Genetic Solutions

A research group at the Kansas State University had embarked into discovering the genetic key into the resistance of rice against an important rice disease, bacterial blight. Two pathovars of the pathogen are being studied: oryzicola and oryzae. Rice varieties are being exposed to the two pathogens and genes that are triggered are consequently identified. By this method, Adam Bogdanove, team leader of the research group believes that they can identify the genes that are making the plants resistant. "We are looking at genes of successful plants," he said. "What genes are active and when and how much they are being turned on." Understanding which genes are being manipulated by the pathogens in disease, different varieties and wild relatives or rice variants of these genes that are immune to manipulation can be introduced to other rice varieties."The idea is to reduce or eliminate susceptibility altogether," said Bogdanove.

For details, see press release at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2009/apr/bogdanove.shtml