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KSU Scientists Progress on Wheat Scab Resistance
USAgNet - 12/02/2016

According to findings published online in the journal Nature Genetics, Kansas State University scientists have isolated and cloned the gene that will provide resistance to Fusarium head blight, or wheat scab. Causing $7.8 billion in losses for U.S. wheat farmers between 1993 and 2001, wheat scab is most often found in humid growing regions, although it has also caused severe damage in more northern states such as North Dakota and Minnesota, who lost nearly 50% of the state’s wheat crop in 1997, with an estimated $1 billion in losses.

After 20 years of research, including scientists in China and several American universities, Kansas State University has reported that they have identified the DNA and protein sequence of the resistance gene, and are gaining an idea of how the gene provides resistance.

According to Bikram Gill, professor of plant pathology and director of the Wheat Genetics Resource Center at Kansas State University, traditional and molecular wheat breeding will benefit from the finding. Testing for new varieties against the disease will be able to be much faster with the new research that has emerged.


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