Location: Cereal Disease Lab
Project Number: 5062-21220-025-026-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 4, 2023
End Date: Sep 3, 2026
Objective:
1. Implement and supervise an efficient process of annually collecting and monitoring all cereal rust pathogens nationally and internationally; 2. Develop genomic, genetic, and molecular tools to better characterize various cereal rust pathogens, pathogen populations, and their interaction with host; and 3. Screen and identify more resistant host plants for use in germplasm development.
Approach:
Wheat, oat, and barley are important cereal commodities in U.S. agricultural production, the domestic food processing industry, and grain exports. Rust diseases of these cereals are among the most important causes of yield loss in these crops in the U.S. and worldwide. This research project will oversee the collection and monitoring of cereal rust pathogens from across the U.S. and critical hotspots across the world, identify the genetic variation in populations of the cereal rust fungi in the U.S and worldwide and identify more resistant sources for use in germplasm development. Ultimately the goal is to devise a more efficient system of deriving more resistant varieties for use by the research community.
