| This project going to be… | Experimental (lab/field based) |
| Email | nichola.hawkins@niab.com |
| Position held | Researcher |
| Title of Project | Fungicide resistance in Zymoseptoria tritici through time |
| Institution Department and Address | NIAB, 93 Lawrence Weaver Road |
| Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB3 0LE |
| United Kingdom |
| Full Name of Supervisor | Dr Nichola Hawkins |
| Date of Project Commencement | 03/07/2023 |
| Duration (weeks) | 8 |
| Brief Description of Project | Antimicrobial resistance is an example of ongoing evolution with important practical consequences. In addition to the well-known problem of antibiotic resistance in clinical pathogens, fungicide resistance is a problem in the control of plant diseases, including the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici. Through successive resistance monitoring projects, we have collected isolates of Z. tritici for the past 20 years, and in each case, they were tested for sensitivity against the key fungicides in use at the time. However, for the key fungicide groups of azoles and SDHIs, different fungicides within each group have been in use over the years. As sensitivity to older compounds declined, new compounds were introduced which were more effective against contemporary fungal isolates. This may be partly due to negative cross-resistance between different fungicides against some fungal genotypes, or to higher intrinsic activity of newer compounds across all fungal genotypes. In order to test the relative contribution of those two possible explanations, the student will be able to test the sensitivity of isolates from earlier years against newer fungicides and to test isolates from recent years against older fungicides, and to sequence the relevant fungicide target site encoding genes. This will improve our understanding of the evolution of resistance over time, informing resistance management strategies. The student will gain experience in aseptic technique, working with fungal pathogens and conducting fungicide sensitivity assays, as well as DNA extraction, PCR and DNA sequence analysis. |
| Attach the recommended reading for the project | Hawkins, N. J. and Fraaije, B. A. (2018) Fitness Penalties in the Evolution of Fungicide Resistance. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 56, pp. 339-360. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-080417-050012 |
| Fraaije, B (2022) Monitoring resistance to foliar fungicides in cereal pathogens. AHDB Project report 21120018a – Annual project report 2022, https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Research%20Papers/Cereals%20and%20Oilseed/2022/21120018a%20-%20Annual%20Project%20Report%20(2022).pdf (see especially figures 5a, 6a, 7a). |
| Cools, H.J., Hawkins, N.J. and Fraaije, B.A. (2013) Constraints on the evolution of azole resistance in plant pathogenic fungi. Plant Pathology, 62: 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.12128 |
| Jørgensen, L.N., Matzen, N., Heick, T.M. et al. (2021) Decreasing azole sensitivity of Z. tritici in Europe contributes to reduced and varying field efficacy. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 287–301 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41348-020-00372-4 |
