| This project going to be… | Experimental (lab/field based) |
| Email | diane.saunders@jic.ac.uk |
| Position held | Group Leader |
| Title of Project | Under attack by a cereal killer: the hunt for disease susceptibility factors |
| Institution Department and Address | Crop Genetics Department, John Innes Centre |
| Norwich, Norfolk NR4 7UH |
| United Kingdom |
| Full Name of Supervisor | Professor Diane G.O. Saunders |
| Date of Project Commencement | 10/07/2023 |
| Duration (weeks) | 10 |
| Brief Description of Project | Introduction Wheat is a major staple cereal for 40 percent of the world’s population. It is the most widely cultivated crop in the world, providing 20 percent of the daily human dietary calorie and protein requirements. The global production of wheat has increased significantly over the last few decades. However, there is an urgent need to sustainably increase wheat production and productivity to meet the ever-increasing global demand for food. Combating wheat diseases such as wheat rusts, among other biotic and abiotic factors will undoubtedly contribute to reducing wheat yield losses, which will ultimately boost food security worldwide. Project Aim The aim of this project is to investigate the role of putative wheat genes in yellow rust disease susceptibility. Notably, yellow rust (YR) disease is caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), a wheat destroyer and major threat to wheat production worldwide. Previous work (based on RNA sequencing) in the Saunders Laboratory identified a series of candidate wheat genes that are involved in enhancing or restricting Pst infection. Among these genes we identified a branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase (termed TaBCAT1) as a positive regulator of wheat rust susceptibility. Disrupting the function of TaBCAT1 in mutant Kronos (tetraploid) durum wheat plants significantly reduced yellow rust infection. We found that this enhanced resistance was due to a general activation of defence processes in the mutant plants, priming them to respond even before being subjected to pathogen attack! However, further analysis is urgently needed to explore whether disruption of TaBCAT1 in bread wheat (hexaploid) varieties also provides the same protective benefit as seen in durum wheat (tetraploid) against the wheat rusts. Your Role In this project, you will combine genetic, molecular and plant pathology approaches to assess the function of TaBCAT1 disruption mutants in bread wheat during Pst infection. This will include cultivating and genotyping wheat mutant lines and their respective wildtype plants; performing Pst infection assays to phenotypically evaluate disease progression in the mutants relative to the wildtype; gene expression analysis (by quantitative real time PCR). This project will provide a unique opportunity for training in a broad array of techniques and you will also be embedded in a multi-disciplinary research group led by Professor Diane Saunders at the JIC. |
| Attach the recommended reading for the project | Corredor-Moreno P., Minter F., Davey P.E., Wegel E., Kular B., Brett P., Lewis C.M., Morgan Y.M.L., Macías Pérez L.A., Korolev A.V., Hill L., Saunders D.G.O. (2021) The branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase TaBCAT1 modulates amino acid metabolism and positively regulates wheat rust susceptibility. The Plant Cell, 5: 1728-1747. [https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab049] |
