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EmailLong-term, large-scale analysis shows decline in soybean resistance genes over time
Plant disease resistance genes are widely used in agriculture to reduce disease outbreaks and epidemics and ensure global food security. But is there a time limit to their effectiveness? Dr Austin McCoy, who got his PhD recently with Dr. Martin Chilvers,published his dissertation on this subject in Nature Communications. “A global-temporal analysis on Phytophthora sojae resistance-gene efficacy” looks closely at the loss of efficacy in soybean resistance genes to manage Phytophthora sojae in the U.S., Canada, China, and Argentina.
Austin led the far-reaching collaboration between colleagues in the United States, Canada, and Argentina. ”We found a loss of efficacy for our most prevalent resistance genes available to manage P. sojae in the United States, Canada, and Argentina.”
The results of the study will be communicated directly to growers, starting with an article on the MSU Extension website.
This systematic review emphasizes the need to widely introduce new sources of resistance to P. sojae into commercial cultivars. “We hope the study will help prompt soybean breeders to include more resistance sources to combat this devastating disease,” Martin said.
