1. Potential for re-emergence of wheat stem rust in the United Kingdom
- Author
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Daniel P. Bebber, Zacharias A. Pretorius, Javed Iqbal Mirza, David Hodson, Jane Thomas, Ali S. Omrani, Brande B. H. Wulff, Paul Fenwick, Sophie A. Harrington, Jens Maintz, Pilar Corredor-Moreno, Alena Hanzalová, Brian J. Steffenson, Silvia Germán, Rose N. Kigathi, Julio Huerta-Espino, Diane G. O. Saunders, Anna Berlin, Rients E. Niks, Vanessa Bueno-Sancho, Richard García, Antoine Persoons, Clare M. Lewis, M. Patpour, Ngonidzashe Kangara, Muhammed Imtiaz, Ravi P. Singh, Annemarie Fejer Justesen, R. Roohparvar, B. Visser, Hanan Sela, Mogens S. Hovmøller, and Kim Findlay
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Biology ,Stem rust ,01 natural sciences ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Laboratorium voor Plantenveredeling ,Wheat plant ,Life Science ,lcsh:QH301-705.5 ,2. Zero hunger ,Puccinia ,Host (biology) ,food and beverages ,Outbreak ,Fungal pathogen ,biology.organism_classification ,Plant Breeding ,030104 developmental biology ,lcsh:Biology (General) ,Agronomy ,Western europe ,EPS ,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,TRIGO ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Wheat stem rust, a devastating disease of wheat and barley caused by the fungal pathogen Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, was largely eradicated in Western Europe during the mid-to-late twentieth century. However, isolated outbreaks have occurred in recent years. Here we investigate whether a lack of resistance in modern European varieties, increased presence of its alternate host barberry and changes in climatic conditions could be facilitating its resurgence. We report the first wheat stem rust occurrence in the United Kingdom in nearly 60 years, with only 20% of UK wheat varieties resistant to this strain. Climate changes over the past 25 years also suggest increasingly conducive conditions for infection. Furthermore, we document the first occurrence in decades of P. graminis on barberry in the UK . Our data illustrate that wheat stem rust does occur in the UK and, when climatic conditions are conducive, could severely harm wheat and barley production. Clare Lewis et al. report the first identification in nearly 60 years of a cultivated wheat plant infected with the fungal pathogen Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici (wheat stem rust) in the United Kingdom. They find that only 20% of UK wheat varieties are resistant to this strain and urge growers to resume resistance breeding programs.
- Published
- 2018
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