Objectives:
The long-term goal of research conducted in the Small Grains Fungal Pathology
Laboratory is to increase the level of resistance in cereal crops to foliar
diseases caused by fungi, other than rusts. The principal focus of the lab
currently is on the Septoria diseases of wheat. The lab is located within
the Crop
Production and Pest Control Research Unit of the Agricultural Research
Service, on the Purdue University campus, West Lafayette, Indiana, and was
established June 1995.
Foliar fungal pathogens pose significant threats to grain crop production.
Septoria diseases of wheat cause economically significant yield losses in
most of the wheat-growing areas of the world. Losses can range from 30 to
50% in climates conducive to disease development. Sources of resistance to
the Septoria diseases of wheat have been identified and provide some measure
of control. However, very little is known about the molecular and genetic
mechanisms of disease resistance, and almost nothing is known about the mechanisms
of virulence in the pathogens, Phaeosphaeria (Septoria) nodorum
and Mycosphaerella graminicola (aka Septoria tritici). A clear
understanding of the genetic and molecular basis for host-pathogen interactions
will be needed to protect wheat against these diseases in the future.
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and Pest Control Research Unit |
