Advances in the Fight Against Wheat Stem Rust

MSI PI Brian Steffenson (professor, Plant Pathology) provides insights in a Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) story about a new genetic modification technique that shows promise in developing strains of wheat that are resistant to wheat stem rust. This disease is highly damaging to wheat crops worldwide. The new method may allow researchers to more quickly breed crop varieties that are pathogen-resistant, leading to less use of fungicides. The story can be found on the MPR website: Gene Technology a “Game Changer” in Fight Against Wheat Disease.

Professor Steffenson uses MSI for projects that seek to clone rust resistance genes from wild relatives of cereal crops.