Wheat Pathogen Mystery Solved
June 4, 2010| |
A mystery faced by plant pathologists – as to why a pathogen that attacks wheat can be so adaptable, diverse and virulent – has been solved. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) led by Yue Jin found out that stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis, is capable of sexually reproducing on the leaves of an alternate host called barberry, a common ornamental. Results were published in the journal Phytopathology.
An ARS press release says that "sexual recombination promotes rapid reshuffling of virulence gene combinations and produces a genetic mix more likely to pass along traits that improve the chances for survival." Barberry serves as a sexual or alternate host for stripe rust. When spores of the stripe rust fungus germinate in the spring, they produce spores that reach barberry leaves. Structures are formed on top of the leaves that allow mating between races or strains of the fungus. The resulting spores infect wheat.
See the ARS press release at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100601.htm
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