Scientists are currently developing wheat capable of resisting a new variant of rust disease, which threatens large losses to Australia's six-billion-dollar annual grain crop.

According to 7NEWS.com.au, "wheat stem rust can attack" the plants' all above-ground parts that include the "stem, leaves and inflorescence."

Wheat plants that are infected may also yield the so-called "shriveled grain." An untreated infection, on the other hand, could decrease grain production by a maximum of 90 percent.

The new variant called Ug99, which was discovered in Uganda in 1999, is a strain of wheat stem rust originally discovered in Africa and the Middle East that, the said report specified, "has overcome 17 out of 34 stem rust resistance genes" detected in wheat.

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Ug99 Variant

About 30 percent of present wheat varieties are vulnerable to the Ug99 variant, and researchers are currently working to guarantee Australian crops are shielded from the disease.

In addition, according to the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization or CSIRO, Ug99 has not been traced in Australia, although an outbreak could cost the industry up to roughly $1.4 billion over the past 10 years.

In 1973, a previous major stem rust outbreak in the country affected crops throughout the states. As a result, it cost the wheat industry from $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion between 2014 and 2015.

Researchers, who are desperate to avoid a Ug99 outbreak, have worked in developing wheat with a stronger and possibly more robust resistance level by assembling together five resistance genes.

Scientists combined and inserted the said five wheat resistance genes to make it much more difficult for rust pathogens to successfully attack wheat.

According to Dr. Mick Ayliffe, lead CSIRO researcher, their approach is comparable to "putting five locks on a door" that makes it quite difficult for one from the outside to enter.

Protection from Rust Pathogens

"Rigorous field testing," Dr. Ayliffe explains, showed that their gene assembly approach offered complete protection from rust pathogens the research team was targeting.

The lead researcher also adds the said approach could be used worldwide for the protection of crops saying, this potential gene assembling technology is an approach that "we could rust-proof not just Australia but international crops, as well."

Commenting on their new work, Ayliffe also explains that it is a valuable insurance policy in case mutations occur in wheat rust with devastating virulence, with the capability to deploy long-lasting solutions to the field much sooner compared to when there would have been in the past.

Essentially, wheat provides roughly 20 percent of the calorie intake of the world, making crop protection very essential for world food security, with cereal rust affecting barley, rye, oats, and triticale crops, as well.

The lead researcher says that international research had targeted stem rust. Still, a similar technology can breed counter to stripe and leaf rust infection too, and indifferent wheat varieties present to add resistance.

Spreading from Plant to Plant

As specified in the research, wheat rust can swiftly mutate, making it more difficult for wheat growers to respond fast through the use of conservative breeding.

The disease is spreading from plant to plant through spores, which a similar Yahoo! News report says are small, light, and last for several days.

On top of being spread through wind, spores can easily attach to tools, machinery, and even clothing, enabling movement and spread between regions and farms.

The application of this new in-built resistance technology would be an essential tool for combined pest management, decreasing the need for fungicides and increasing the robustness of the management tools designed for farmers.

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