Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding wheat’s resistance to stripe rust, a significant fungal threat to global agriculture. What Dr. Valentyna Klymiuk and her colleagues discovered was truly groundbreaking. Instead of a single gene creating resistance, they discovered that the action of two separate genes was responsible for the resistance in a wild strain of wheat. As a result, their findings were published in the highly selective, international scientific journal Nature Genetics.
Yr84, genotype ZM524687, conferred robust stripe rust resistance in wheat and its use was emphasized in the research. From that, it uncovered how two genes interact at a protein level to start the plant’s immune response. This finding uncovers a unique way that plants specifically adapt to pathogens. More importantly, it creates unprecedented opportunities for breeding resistant crop varieties.
The Research Findings
The researchers learned through the study that a single gene identifies the invading pathogen. At the same time, a second gene activates the plant’s immune system to prevent the pathogen from spreading. “Our go-to gene was the answer for a long time,” Klymiuk said. Generally, all of our results were intuitive with a few exceptions and there were some plants that didn’t produce the expected results. This big challenge forced us to reconsider everything. It was time to go back to the lab and check if two genes were really in play. Once we retested, the results became clear.
This combined discovery is critically important to breeders. That knowledge will assist them in breeding wheat varieties that more effectively resist stripe rust, one of the most important threats affecting crop producers around the world. The unique behavior of these genes prompted Klymiuk to develop a DNA test to ensure both genes are present in new plants, thereby optimizing resistance capabilities.
The Role of Collaboration
Dr. Curtis Pozniak, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), has been the director of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) since 2014. He underscored the importance of rigorous investigation in scientific inquiry. “A lot of the time when things don’t line up, the temptation is to move forward, but we really dug into the weeds to figure out what was going on and that’s when we realized that the genes were communicating and working together and that’s what’s really new,” said Pozniak.
That intersection between Klymiuk’s research and Pozniak’s on-the-ground practices exemplifies the link between science and agriculture, where research meets real-life application. Their holistic perspective pushed the boundaries of their knowledge of plant biology. It made great strides toward advancing breeding and biotechnology frameworks that would help prevent disease.
We stayed the course with our trials, unwilling to turn back. It was due to that single-minded determination that we found that two genes must act in concert to confer resistance. It’s a great science story,” Pozniak remarked. This persistence has set a foundation for future research into other potential genes that could enhance disease resistance in crops.
Implications for Agriculture
The real-world implications of this research go far beyond scholarly curiosity. As climate change and other global agricultural pressures increasingly undermine the security of our food supply, learning how plants resist disease or pests will be more important than ever. Klymiuk noted, “Part of our research is keeping one step ahead of pathogens by identifying new resistance genes which ideally could be stacked, like Lego blocks, so the pathogen can’t easily overcome the resistance.”
As Dr. Pozniak noted, the power of plant biology means the need for continued research and innovation. It’s the interconnectedness of research and breeding that enables us to stay focused on the end goal and to breed the most productive varieties possible for farmers. The whole process of this project has been an incredible glimpse into and appreciation of the amazing complexity of plant biology. Plants are under constant pressure to evolve—that’s the only way they survive, and the methods they use can be truly remarkable.