In the heart of Africa, where the golden fields of wheat sway under the sun, a silent enemy lurks. Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, or Pgt, the wheat stem rust fungus, threatens to decimate crops and destabilize food security. But a new tool in the fight against this cereal killer is on the horizon, promising to revolutionize disease surveillance and management.
Imagine a world where farmers and agronomists can detect and respond to wheat rust outbreaks in near real-time, even in the most resource-limited regions. This is the vision that Loizos Savva, a researcher at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, and his team are bringing to life with their innovative genotyping platform.
The key to this breakthrough lies in the power of nanopore sequencing technology. The team has developed a portable, amplicon-based re-sequencing platform that can rapidly genotype Pgt isolates using a set of 276 highly polymorphic genes. This means that, for the first time, it’s possible to accurately type Pgt strains to particular lineages within approximately 48 hours of collecting infected wheat samples.
“This platform is a game-changer,” Savva explains. “It enables us to track the spread of new Pgt strains and monitor shifts in fungicide sensitivity in real-time. This is crucial for preventing extensive disease outbreaks and reducing crop losses.”
The platform, dubbed the Pgt Mobile And Real-time, PLant disEase (MARPLE) diagnostics platform, is designed to be user-friendly and accessible, even in remote locations. It includes a simplistic DNA preparation method and an automated bioinformatic pipeline, making it possible to sequence and analyze Pgt gene markers rapidly using the MinION nanopore sequencing device.
The implications of this research are far-reaching. By integrating the MARPLE diagnostics platform into national surveillance programs, countries can make more informed management decisions and respond more quickly to Pgt disease outbreaks. This could significantly reduce the devastating crop losses currently caused by wheat stem rust, securing food supplies and supporting the livelihoods of farmers.
But the benefits don’t stop at disease management. The MARPLE platform’s ability to track fungicide sensitivity in real-time could also have significant commercial impacts for the energy sector. Wheat is a crucial feedstock for biofuels, and any disruption to wheat production can have ripple effects throughout the energy market. By enabling early detection and response to wheat rust outbreaks, the MARPLE platform could help stabilize wheat supplies and support the growth of the bioenergy industry.
The research, published in BMC Genomics, also translates to English as ‘Basic Medical Cell Genomics’, opens up new possibilities for the future of disease surveillance and management. As Savva puts it, “This is just the beginning. We’re already exploring how this technology can be adapted to monitor other plant diseases and even detect emerging pathogens before they cause outbreaks.”
The fight against wheat stem rust is far from over, but with tools like the MARPLE diagnostics platform, farmers, agronomists, and researchers have a powerful new ally. By harnessing the power of nanopore sequencing and real-time data, they can stay one step ahead of this cereal killer, protecting crops and securing food supplies for generations to come.