Publications by authors named "B Steffenson"
Article Synopsis
- The Mla locus in barley includes diverse genes that help the plant resist certain fungal pathogens through specific immune responses.
- Researchers identified a gene, Scs6, that differs from Mla genes and makes barley susceptible to the necrotrophic fungus Bipolaris sorokiniana.
- The Scs6 protein interacts with a peptide effector from the fungus to trigger cell death in barley, indicating it plays a role in disease susceptibility, and may lead to advancements in developing crops resistant to these pathogens.
Article Synopsis
- The population structure and evolution of basidiomycetes, such as rust fungi, are shaped by complex reproductive strategies that include both asexual and sexual reproduction, which enhance their adaptability.
- Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae (Pca), a significant oat pathogen, exhibits varied contributions from sexual reproduction, clonality, and genetic exchange to its evolution, leading to challenges in managing host resistance.
- Recent genome sequencing of Pca isolates from the USA, Australia, Taiwan, and South Africa revealed genetic recombination and somatic hybridization, indicating increased genetic diversity and potential intercontinental movement of strains, highlighting the need for global pathogen monitoring.
Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) disease resistance genes typically confer resistance against races of a single pathogen. Here, we report that Yr87/Lr85, an NLR gene from Aegilops sharonensis and Aegilops longissima, confers resistance against both P. striiformis tritici (Pst) and Puccinia triticina (Pt) that cause stripe and leaf rust, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPangenomes are collections of annotated genome sequences of multiple individuals of a species. The structural variants uncovered by these datasets are a major asset to genetic analysis in crop plants. Here we report a pangenome of barley comprising long-read sequence assemblies of 76 wild and domesticated genomes and short-read sequence data of 1,315 genotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a globally dominant crop and major source of calories and proteins for the human diet. Compared with its wild ancestors, modern bread wheat shows lower genetic diversity, caused by polyploidisation, domestication and breeding bottlenecks. Wild wheat relatives represent genetic reservoirs, and harbour diversity and beneficial alleles that have not been incorporated into bread wheat.
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