The James Hutton Institute is working with the University of Dundee, the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge (SLCU) and Imperial College London on a major multi-million pound study to reveal the secrets of an invisible war that threatens food production worldwide.
The project that aims to determine how pathogens cause crop diseases such as potato blight, was awarded £5.91 million from UKRI, for the five year study that will start early this year.
Approximately 25% of food is threatened annually by pests and diseases.
Chief amongst these threats are fungal and oomycete pathogens, such as Phytophthora infestans, which cause the devastating disease potato blight and contributed to the Irish Potato Famine in the 1800s.
Phytophthora produces an infection structure – the haustorium – which is formed intimately within living plant cells. This structure is a battleground where exchanges of virulence proteins from the pathogen, and defence molecules produced by the host take place.
The successful delivery of these molecules by each protagonist determines the outcome of their interaction – successful infection by Phytophthora or effective defence by the plant.
This new study brings together a multi-disciplinary team of world experts who will determine how the haustorium is formed and how pathogens transform it to their advantage. New molecular, biochemical and cell biological techniques will be used to address how molecules are exchanged between pathogen and the host. It is hoped that improving our understanding of haustoria could eventually lead to the development of measures that protect potatoes and other crops from disease.
Professor Paul Birch, Professor of Plant Pathology, at the University of Dundee, and a joint appointment with the James Hutton Institute, who will lead the study, said, “These infection structures present a real and present danger to crops that are staples of our diet. This is a truly exciting opportunity to make major advances in our understanding of how these key infection structures are formed and function. The funding will consolidate the UK’s leading position in this research area. The understanding that is likely to emerge from our studies will provide new ways to prevent diseases that threaten global food security.”
