Rational use of agricultural biodiversity by reducing the need for breeding

Context: Major resistance (R) genes to plant pathogens are an important resource to create healthy crops and reduce the use of pesticides. R genes are extracted from the agricultural biodiversity and used in all cereal breeding programs.

They can provide complete immunity to various diseases for a certain time, but ultimately they are overcome by pathogens, and rendered obsolete.Importance: Like antibiotics, the more an R gene is used the faster it becomes inefficient. Thus, R genes must be continuously replaced due to their systematic failure over time.

New R genes are continuously extracted from the agricultural biodiversity at an unprecedented pace and scale, thus contributing to rapid erosion of this limited resource.Aim: This project aims at developing new strategies for a sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity in resistance breeding.

In particular we want to develop tools to rescue, recycle, and increase the lifespan of R genes in wheat.Approach: We will focus on two overlooked mechanisms leading to R gene failure in the field: (i) when resistance genes are suppressing each other and (ii) when a resistance gene to one pathogen is suppressed by another pathogen.

We will combine different approaches of plant pathology, functional genomics and molecular biology to translate this knowledge into tools to inform cultivar development and rational use of R genes.Impact: Our work will benefit to the rational use of biodiversity in a broader range of crops.