Genome evolution & adaptation of the multinuclear wheat stripe rust fungus

Wheat is Australia's largest crop contributing about 9% to Australia's agricultural output. Yet, wheat yields can be severely impacted by disease. The wheat stripe rust fungus is the most important wheat pathogen in Australia. During epidemics farmers lose up to AUD$100 million due to fungicide applications and reduced yields. This project is designed to address this issue by understanding how the fungus adapts to wheat varieties and causes disease. The project aims to apply cutting edge genome sequencing approaches to analyze contemporary and historic pathogen collections. This is projected to identify the pathogen genes that enable infection of wheat. The project outcomes are targeted to lead to better disease monitoring breeding strategies to combat disease. In the long-term this research is poised to reduce disease severity while minimizing fungicide applications benefiting framers and the environment. This will lead to increases in wheat yields and hence contri