Scientists Discover Markers for Rice Blast Disease

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have identified genetic markers for a gene that helps rice resist the destructive fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. The fungus causes the rice blast disease, a scourge that destroys enough rice to feed more than 60 million people. The crippling nature of rice blast disease stems from the fungus’ ability to produce structures that invade the plant’s vascular system, blocking the transport of nutrients and water, and producing lesions on the aboveground plant parts.

Robert Fjellstrom and research leader Anna McClung at the ARS Rice Research Unit discovered genetic markers linked to the Pi-z rice blast resistance gene. Pi-z confers resistance to many strains of the blast fungus in the United States and throughout the world. Compared to previously developed markers, the markers discovered by ARS scientists are located closer to the Pi-z gene making them extremely accurate in predicting the gene’s presence. Rice breeders have already been able to use these markers to select for highly resistant rice cultivars in California and Texas.

For more information, read http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/080912.htm