Responsable: Fernando Bienvenido Martínez Moreno
Tipo de Proyecto/Ayuda: Plan Estatal 2017-2020 Retos - Colaboración Público-Privada
Referencia: PLEC2021-007930
Fecha de Inicio: 01-12-2021
Fecha de Finalización: 30-11-2024

Empresa/Organismo financiador/es:

• Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación

Socios:

• Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
• Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria
• Agrovegetal, S.A.

Contratados:

• Técnicos/Personal Administrativo:
  • Jaime Nolasco Rodríguez Vázquez

Resumen del proyecto:

1- Identifying the threat: Determine the molecular bases of virulence of current populations of Zymoseptoria tritici, Puccinia triticina and Puccinia tritici-duri. Pathogen populations are frequently highly diverse and dynamic. New races and strains arise very frequently by mutations and subsequent selection for virulence in resistance gene-containing wheat accessions, rendering these genes ineffective. Therefore, an important step towards the development of more effective control methods comes with the comprehension of the pathogen populations in durum wheat-growing regions. Pathogen surveillance and a better understanding of the threat allow wheat pathologists and breeders to anticipate the occurrence of new races that might potentially threaten wheat production. In this objective, we will aim to gain in-depth knowledge of the populations of Z. tritici and P. triticina, the most frequent causal agent of durum wheat rust in Spanish durum wheat-growing regions. Additionally, we will also characterize the Spanish populations of P. tritici-duri, which has been identified as a potential pathogen of durum wheat when yellow rust (caused by P. triticina) is being controlled. Population genomic analysis followed by virulence phenotyping and association mapping will be performed for the three fungal pathogens. We seek to understand current diseases and potential disease outbreaks.

2- Identification of wheat plant genetic resources to be used to improve resistance against pathogens. Due to the fast evolution of pathogens, genetic resistance is frequently overcome by fast-evolving pathogens, such as Z. tritici and Puccinia sp. Thus, maintaining genetic resistance requires constant identification of new sources of resistance genes to protect our crops. Landraces are adapted to the environmental conditions of the area of cultivation and, therefore, they are excellent natural resources of new resistance genes to be used in breeding programs. For instance, in a recent study, several Spanish landraces were resistant to leaf rust, such as Morisco de Tenerife, Tremen duro or the rivet wheat landrace Blanco de Vegadeo (Martínez-Moreno et al., 2021). In the project, we will aim to characterize the resistance of commercial durum wheat cultivars and identify new sources of plant genetic resistance to septoria tritici blotch and rust. This work will be used to identify new molecular markers for resistance through association mapping. These resources will be of critical importance to seed and breeding companies, including the participant in the consortium Agrovegetal.

3- Prediction of septoria tritici blotch outbreaks by genomic-assisted breeding Sustainable control of diseases comes along with fast and reliable prediction methods of pathogen outbreaks. Prediction of the evolution and incidence of pathogens will anticipate future pathogen attacks to crops, which will facilitate the design of resilient agricultural practices, contributing to food security and sustainable food production. Genomic-assisted breeding can serve as a tool to reduce the use of fungicides by predicting whether a cultivar will be resistant to septoria tritici blotch in the following growing season. In this research, we intend to combine genomic and phenotypic information from the pathogen and the cultivar to predict disease outbreaks and to predict infections in new varieties that have been not phenotyped.