Wheat fungus tapped for sequencing

Agricultural Research, Oct, 2005 by Stephen B. Goodwin

A microbe that causes lesions in wheat leaves that interfere with the plant's growth and grain formation has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute for genetic sequencing. Mycosphaerella graminicola, one of the top five wheat disease pathogens around the world, belongs to a family of fungi that cause similar leaf-spotting diseases in bananas, strawberries, cereal crops, citrus, and many other plants.

The fungus costs U.S. wheat farmers about $275 million a year in yield losses. European counterparts spend more than $600 million annually on fungicidal sprays.

Researchers have already assembled a genetic map with more than 300 gene markers for M. graminicola. In cooperation with Plant Research International in Wageningen, The Netherlands, and aided by the Joint Genome Institute's equipment and expertise, they expect to complete sequencing of the entire genome soon.

Understanding the functions of M. graminicola's approximately 15,000 genes will help scientists learn how this fungus infects crops and devise ways to better control it and related species. Stephen B. Goodwin, USDA-ARS Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, West Lafayette, Indiana; phone (765) 494-4635, e-mail sgoodwin@purdue.edu.