The Danish Council for Strategic Research – Grant: DKK 15.171.566
Project period: 01.01.2014 – 31.12.2018.
Scientific summary
Ramularia collo-cygni (Rcc) is an infectious fungus of cereals and grasses that for unknown reasons, develops from an asymptomatic endophyte into a major pathogen of barley. The fast spreading, competitive and asymptomatic nature of Rcc during its endophytic stage represents a genuine challenge to cereal breeders and the deployment of plant protection products. No cultivars with very high expression of resistance have been identified, and no efficient diagnosis predicting a damaging attack exists.
In Denmark, Ramularia leaf spot (RLS) has been recognized as a major disease since 2002, and is scored by the official variety testing system, while in the UK resistance ratings are required for variety recommendation.
We aim to identify the timing, and key molecular and genetic components responsible for the switch from endophytic to pathogenic life style of Rcc, and to use these for the development of tools for barley breeding and for efficient disease diagnosis.
Our hypothesis is that barley can be bred to keep Rcc in its endophytic, non-symptomatic phase, and thereby yield losses due to RLS can be avoided.
By employing molecular, genetic and biological knowledge, reliable markers for breeding and for diagnosis of disease progression will be designed. We will
BRCC brings together, for the first time, leading international groups in the field into a team to integrate the knowledge on the partners i.e. the plant and the microbe.
Aarhus University, Denmark
| The Scottish Rural College, UK
|
The Bioinformatics Center
| The James Hutton Institute, UK
|
The University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| Sejet Plantbreeding I/S, Denmark
|
Fungal contamination of barley crops can cause reduced yields due to the disease leaf spot. A team of Danish and Scottish researchers will now develop tools to breed resistant varieties of barley and provide an early diagnosis of outbreaks so the disease can be reduced or eliminated. The Danish Council for Strategic Research has just granted Associate Professor Simona Radutoiu DKK 15.2 million for the project.