In a global effort to ensure food security, 2Blades and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT, have formed an alliance to develop wheat lines offering durable resistance against wheat rust.
Wheat is a staple crop that provides an estimated 20 percent of calories and protein in the human diet worldwide, officials said. Recent epidemics of stem rust in Africa have been caused by the evolution of new rust strains that have overcome host resistance. These strains can destroy an entire crop, resulting in a serious threat to food security.
Through work with an international network of collaborators, 2Blades, headquartered in the United States, has identified multiple genes conferring stem rust resistance from the wheat plant and its relatives, which can provide strong disease resistance.
Since single genes are often rapidly overcome by pathogen evolution, 2Blades and CIMMYT will introduce a stack of multiple resistance genes into wheat through biotechnology to provide durable resistance.
Creating a resistance gene stack at a single genetic locus not only provides durability, but also facilitates moving the resistance into other varieties through breeding. If the stack is proven to be effective, the parties will seek funding to introduce it into elite CIMMYT wheat lines for distribution to countries that have biosafety regulations in place to utilize these cultivars.
More Stories
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Announces one Vacancy on the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: Support Ag Literacy Through the AFB Foundation for Agriculture’s Online Silent Auction
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: Farm Bureau: Members Accept Leadership Roles on National Committees
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Office of the Farm to Fork Invites Application for 2021 Farm to School Grants
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Awards Funding to Support Agricultural Education and Leadership Opportunities as part of the Calag Plate Program
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: AFBF Welcomes Nomination of Katherine Tai for U.S. Trade Representative
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Announces Vacancies on Feed Inspection Advisory Board Technical Advisory Subcomittee
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: AFBF Stands-Up for Farmers in Predatory Shakedown
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CFDA Issues Stop Use Notice and Statewide Quarantine on Organic Fertilizer AGRO Gold WS
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: Registration Open for American Farm Bureau Virtual Convention, Featuring Mike Rowe, Rorke Denver and Beth Ford