Characterisation of a novel disease immunity pathway in plants

Plant diseases reduce Australian grain production by up to 25% leading to in excess of $1 billion AUD in losses due to reduced export and trade. Managing plant diseases is challenging and requires new and innovative approaches to improve crop yields. Fungicides are becoming less effective at reducing disease, plants are becoming more vulnerable to infections, and climate change is increasing the distribution of pathogens across the country. This project directly addresses these threats and subsequent economic losses by investigating a novel plant genetic defence mechanism. Cutting-edge approaches in biochemistry and genetics will be employed to exploit this new resistance pathway to enhance the ability of plants to fight pathogens and disease. The knowledge generated from this project will underpin new and innovative approaches by the Australian agriculture-technology sector. This wi